The Link Business Centre

Updated 12 August 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

The inspection was carried out by one 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.

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. The registered manager was not available during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the provider, senior care workers, and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records. We looked at three 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 reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 12 August 2021

About the service

646B is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes. There were seven people using this service at the time of our inspection. 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

Since the last inspection the provider had made improvement to the service. The provider and registered manager had put in place audits to monitor the quality of the service and ensure they had oversight of the service. Staff and people using the service were asked for feedback and involved in the care and support provided. The provider was open and transparent.

People’s communication needs had been assessed and recorded and staff knew how to communicate with people, however the provider had not made information available to different formats such as large print. People receiving End of Life care were looked after by the palliative care team. There were no specific end of life care plans in place. We addressed this with the provider who completed these straight away. People knew how to make a complaint and said any concerns were always dealt with promptly.

People’s risks had been assessed and recorded. People said they felt safe and staff understood how to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. There were systems in place to record and investigate incidents and staff knew how to raise and report concerns. Staff had been recruited safely and in line with the company’s recruitment policy. There were enough staff employed to meet people’s needs. The service was not administering any medicines at the time of the inspection. Staff had received training and were following current infection control guidelines and had access to enough personal protective equipment [PPE].

Staff had received an induction and training suitable to their role and were having regular supervisions and spot checks which were recorded. People’s needs and choices had been assessed and recorded. People told us they received effective care that was personalised to them. Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people received the care and support they needed. 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.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 April 2020) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 10 March 2020. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve governance of the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for 646B on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.