Archived: The Link Nursing & Care Agency Limited

The Link Nursing & Care Agency Limited provides personal care to people living in their own homes. The people they support have varying needs including physical disabilities,

learning disabilities and/or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service. Of those, 16 people lived in shared accommodation in supported living facilities. The remaining people either lived on their own or with their family. The provider supports additional people in the community but they do not receive personal care. This inspection and report only relates to the 19 people receiving the regulated activity of personal care. Those receiving support but not receiving personal care are outside the regulatory remit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was present throughout the inspection.

Staff had a good understanding of how to keep people safe and their responsibilities for reporting accidents, incidents or concerns. Staff had the knowledge and confidence to identify safeguarding concerns and acted on these to keep people safe.

People were treated with respect and their privacy and dignity was promoted. People said their care and support workers were kind and supported them in the way they wanted them to. Staff were responsive to the needs of the people they supported and enabled them to improve and maintain their independence with personal care. Risks to people’s personal safety were assessed and plans were in place to minimise those risks.

People received support that was individualised to their specific needs. Their needs were monitored and care plans were kept under review and amended as changes occurred. People's rights to make their own decisions, where possible, were protected and staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure people's rights to make their own decisions were promoted. People confirmed they were involved in decision-making about their care and support needs.

There were safe medicines administration systems in place and people received their medicines when required. People's health and wellbeing was monitored and appropriate action was taken when required.

People were supported by sufficient staff to meet their individual needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed before new staff were employed to work with people. Checks were made to ensure staff were of good character and suitable for their role.

People received effective care and support from staff who were well trained and knew how people liked things done. Staff received effective supervision and their work was reviewed in yearly appraisals.

People benefitted from receiving a service from staff who worked well together and felt management worked with them as a team. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered and the running of the service.

We observed staff spoke respectfully to people who use the service, and supported them as they wished. One relative told us 'Staff were very respectful of my home and family' when support was provided in their home. Support plans reflected the individual's wishes and aspirations. One care worker said 'I understand and respect people's choices whilst supporting them. If they say no they mean no.'

We saw people's support needs were reviewed regularly, and support plans were updated accordingly. People who use the service and relatives of others confirmed they were involved in care planning. One relative told us 'We have a fabulous relationship, we work together. I am extremely pleased with them, they include us in everything.'

One person told us 'I have a laugh with staff. I can talk to them about problems.' Relatives we spoke with told us they felt their loved ones were safe with staff. The care workers we spoke with understood signs of abuse, and were aware of appropriate actions to deal with safeguarding concerns.

Care workers told us they felt supported by management. We saw training was provided to ensure staff supported people safely. One relative described staff as 'very professional'.

Managers and senior staff reviewed information to ensure people's support needs and possible risks that may affect them were identified and updated appropriately. People who use the service and their relatives told us they felt the provider was open to any comments they made.

Relatives we spoke with said they were very pleased with the service provided. One relative said: "We are very pleased with the service, my relative gets out and about so much more and is really coming out of their shell." Another relative told us: "They treat my relative very well. I wouldn't do without them they are great."

Care managers we spoke with were complimentary about the service with comments including: "They work hard to liaise with the families" and "They are doing a really good job". Relatives we spoke with told us "They always turn up on time. They are very good and they listen to what I say" and "We are very pleased with the service, they are excellent, no complaints". One person using the service told us "I like the staff, they help me to do things I want to do."

We found the provider met the outcomes we inspected and had systems in place to monitor their own compliance.