Link Care Solutions

Link Care Solutions is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in the community. The service provides support to adults who may have dementia, mental health conditions or physical health conditions. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service.

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

Staff were not always recruited safely. References had not been received for one member of staff prior to commencing work. This had been identified and addressed by the provider prior to the inspection. Medicines were administered safely however there were no records to demonstrate that staff competency to administer medication had been assessed. We have made a recommendation around this. Safeguarding policies were in place and staff knew how to raise concerns. People told us they felt safe.

Staff training was not all up to date at the time of the inspection. The mandatory training was being reviewed by the manager to determine what was essential. People were supported to eat and drink, and their preferences were recorded. Staff were supported by spot checks and check ins with the manager.

People were treated with dignity and respect by staff. People told us that staff were kind and caring. Staff supported people well and encouraged them to maintain their independence where possible.

People’s care plans were personalised, and further details were added when staff got to know people. Care notes demonstrated that staff knew people well and how they liked to be supported. People were supported with compassion at the end of their lives.

The provider did not have systems in place to ensure that information was kept up to date. The provider had not updated the Commission regarding their registered manager leaving the service. The office address had also changed which had only been partly updated with the Commission. Staff and people using the service gave positive feedback about the manager and management team.

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. At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 January 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the governance of the service at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.