Linday Office

Updated 5 April 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing. This service also provides care and support to people living in 1 ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because some of the people using it could not consent to a home visit from an inspector. This meant that we had to arrange for a ‘best interests’ decision about this.

Inspection activity started on 24 January 2023 and ended on 6 February 2023. We visited the location’s office service on 24 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of care provided. We spoke with 6 staff including the registered manager and the deputy manager. We also received feedback from two social care professionals.

We reviewed five care plans and two recruitment files. We also examined other records relating to the management of the service. This included the provider's quality assurance processes and policies.

Updated 5 April 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Linday is a domiciliary care agency providing the regulated activity of personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service. The service provides support to adults of all ages, people with a learning disability and people with mental health needs.

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

Right Culture:

Audit systems in place had identified areas to improve the quality of the service. However, they had not been consistently implemented to maintain those improvements. People's needs and preferences were highlighted in their care plans for staff to follow. However, some care plans lacked detailed instructions for staff to follow regarding certain medical conditions. There were no reported missed calls, however there lacked some consistency from staff to inform people when they were running late. The registered manager understood their responsibilities. People's needs were assessed prior to them receiving care and support from the service.

Right Support:

Staff were recruited once they had cleared their security checks. Staff received training to support people safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff knew their legal responsibilities to keep people safe. Risks to people had been assessed and people's care plans had been reviewed and updated. Staff supported people to maintain their health and wellbeing by accessing healthcare services.

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.

Right Care:

Staff understood how to promote people's independence and ensured the care they provided treated people with dignity and respect. People were supported to express their views. People's communication needs had been considered and met. Overall, people’s medicines were managed safely. The provider had sufficient infection, prevention and control measures in place and staff had access to a good supply of personal protective equipment.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last inspection for this service was not rated (published on 1 March 2018).

The previously rated inspection was requires improvement (published on 17 December 2015).

Why we inspected

This inspection was in part due to concerns received about staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.