Background to this inspection
Updated
3 February 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people and relatives of people using the service. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service
Service and service type
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave the service short notice of the inspection as we were mindful of the impact and added pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic on the service. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances and requirements arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspection activity started on 7 January 2021 and ended on 18 January 2021. We visited the office location on 11 January 2021. The other days were spent reviewing records, speaking to staff, people and their relatives who used the service.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with the registered manager and the office manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care plans and five people’s medicine records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We spoke with five people using the service and seven relatives of people using the service. We also spoke with five care staff. We looked at a further four care plans. We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found.
Updated
3 February 2021
About the service
Link Care Barnet is a domiciliary care service. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes and flats in the community. The service supports older people with a range of physical, sensory and learning disabilities as well as people living with dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 40 people using the service.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives of people using the service spoke positively of the service and the care and support that they received stating that they had developed caring and respectful relationships with the care staff that supported them.
People told us that they felt safe and confident with the care staff that supported them. Staff knew the signs to look for if abuse was suspected and told us of the actions they would take to protect people from abuse.
Care plans detailed people’s identified risks associated with their health and care needs, with clear guidance to staff on how to manage those risks to keep people safe.
Safe medicines management and administration processes in place ensured people received their medicines as prescribed and on time.
People and relatives confirmed that overall they were supported by staff that they knew, who arrived on time and always stayed their full allotted time. Recruitment processes followed ensured that only those staff assessed as safe to work with vulnerable adults were employed.
People were supported by care staff who had been appropriately trained and were skilled in their role. Care staff told us they were regularly supported through supervision and annual appraisals.
People were supported to eat and drink enough where this was an assessed need. The service supported people to lead healthy lives and supported them to access relevant health care services where required.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Care plans were person centred and detailed, giving care staff the appropriate information and guidance to support people with their needs and wishes.
People and relatives knew who to speak with if they had any complaints and were confident their concerns would be dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner.
Management oversight processes in place enabled the service to monitor the quality of care people received. Where issues were identified these were addressed immediately with further learning and development implemented to improve people’s experiences.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection. The service was registered with us on 17 July 2019 and this was the first inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.