• Care Home
  • Care home

Linden Manor

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

159 Midland Road, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, NN8 1NF (01933) 270266

Provided and run by:
Regal Care Trading Ltd

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile
Important: We are carrying out a review of quality at Linden Manor. We will publish a report when our review is complete. Find out more about our inspection reports.

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 18 January 2024

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors

Service and service type

Linden Manor is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Linden Manor is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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 2 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 19 September 2023 and ended on 23 November 2023. We visited the location’s service on the 19 and 20 September 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 5 people who used the service and 4 relatives of people using the service, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 care workers and 2 registered managers’, 1 cook, 1 laundry person, 1 maintenance person, 1 activities person and the nominated individual for the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 18 January 2024

Linden Manor is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care to up to 28 people. The service provides support to older people, people with dementia, people with physical disabilities and people with sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

Linden Manor is a Victorian property converted into a residential home, with accommodation over three floors which can be accessed via a lift. There is a communal lounge and dining area.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Improvements were required around assessing and monitoring risks to people, safe medicines and infection control. The registered manager made some improvements during the inspection to reduce risks to people.

The provider’s systems and processes to monitor the quality and safety of the service required some improvement to ensure they were effective in identifying and actioning concerns. However, the provider and management team were open and transparent throughout the inspection and made immediate improvements to safety during and after the inspection.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and told us they felt safe. Staff knew how to raise concerns and were confident to speak up.

The home was clean and free from odour. Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] and infection control guidance was available throughout the home for staff, people and visitors.

There were enough regular staff members available to meet people’s needs. Staff knew people well and worked as a team to cover holidays and sickness to ensure continuity of care for people. Care staff received regular training and supervision to ensure they had the skills they needed.

Accidents and incidents were monitored and lessons learned when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed prior to them moving into the home to ensure their needs could be met. People had access to healthcare monitoring and healthcare services as and when required.

People had enough to eat and drink and specialist dietary requirements and preferred choices were met.

The home had been adapted to support people with varying care and mobility needs. There was a lack of dementia friendly signage but this had not impacted on people currently in the service.

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.

People were treated with respect and told us that staff were kind and caring, Staff spoke fondly of people in their care and we observed positive relationships. People’s religion and culture were included in care planning and people were supported to take part in religious activities and celebrations for their choosing. People’s individual communication needs were assessed and planned into care.

People were supported to be independent and make their own choices. Care plans were written in a person centred manor and included people’s likes, dislikes, personal and work history and hobbies. People enjoyed group and 1:1 activity of their choice and were supported to maintain relationships with their relatives’, friends and the local community who were all welcomed into the home.

There was a positive culture in the home with staff and management working together and with other healthcare professionals to get the best outcomes for people. Feedback was sought via regular meetings and questionnaires with people, their relatives, staff and healthcare professionals we saw that this was positive.

People’s end of life wishes were assessed and planned into care; staff could access information quickly to guide them in an emergency.

The provider had a complaints process and relatives told us when they raised concerns these were resolved. People, relatives and staff spoke well of the management team and felt well supported to voice concerns and share ideas.

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 1 April 2023). The service remains requires improvement. The service has been rated requires improvement for the last 3 consecutive inspections.

The provider was issued with a warning notice at the last inspection. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulation.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about care and support in an emergency. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We also followed up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the managerial oversight of the safety and quality of the service.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.