The Care Quality Commission
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Archived: The Link Care Nursing Agency Ltd

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

28 Chislehurst Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 0DG (01689) 898840

Provided and run by:
The Link Care Nursing Agency Ltd

All Inspections

12 October 2017

During a routine inspection

This inspection took place on 12 October 2017. We told the provider 48 hours before our visit that we would be coming, as we wanted to make sure the registered manager and office staff would be available. At the time of our inspection there were approximately 130 people using the service.

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living within their own homes in the boroughs of Bexley and Bromley. It provides a service to adults, older people, people living with dementia, physical disability and or sensory impairment.

At our last inspection of the service on 8 and 9 December 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and they demonstrated they continued to meet the regulations and fundamental standards.

At this inspection there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

Care plans were in place to support people where risks to their health and well-being had been identified. There were appropriate safeguarding procedures in place. Recruitment checks took place before staff started work and there was enough staff to meet people’s needs. The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and acted according to this legislation. Staff had completed an induction when they started work and received training relevant to the needs of people using the service. Care plans detailed people’s nutritional and support needs. People were supported to access to health and social care professionals when they needed them.

People were provided with information about the service. People said staff were caring and their privacy and dignity was maintained. People were consulted about their care. People were aware of the complaints procedure. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided to people. The provider took into account the views of people using the service. Staff said they enjoyed working at the service and they received good support. There was an out of hours on call system in operation that ensured management support was available to people and staff when required.

8 and 9 December 2015

During a routine inspection

This announced inspection took place on 8 and 9 December 2015. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming, as we wanted to make sure the office staff and registered manager would be available. At the last inspection on 13 November 2013 the service was meeting all the legal requirements we inspected.

The Link Care Nursing Agency is a domiciliary care agency situated in the London borough of Bromley. The agency provides care for adults living in Bexley and Bromley boroughs. They provide care and support to older people, people living with dementia, physical disability and or sensory impairment.

At the time of our inspection there were approximately 130 people using the service. There was a registered manager in post and they were also the owner. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

There were systems in place that ensured people received their care on time and people were kept safe and their needs were met. There were policies and procedures in place for safeguarding adults from abuse. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work and staffing levels were appropriate to meet the needs of people using the service.

Risks to people were identified, assessed and management plans developed to reduce any risk of harm, and there were suitable arrangements in place to manage foreseeable emergencies. Where people required support with their medicines, we saw there were robust arrangements in place to ensure medicines were managed and administered safely.

Staff received supervision, appraisals and training appropriate to their needs and the needs of people who they supported to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the service were inducted into the service appropriately.

There were systems in place which ensured the service complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). This provides protection for people who do not have capacity to make decisions for themselves. People’s nutritional needs and preferences were met and people had access to health and social care professionals when required. The service worked well with professionals to ensure people’s health needs were met.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect and they were consulted about their care and support needs. People were provided with information about the service when they joined and we saw that people were provided with a copy of the provider’s ‘service user guide’ which was kept in people’s homes.

People told us the care and support they received was personalised, respected their wishes and met their needs. People’s support, care needs and risks were identified, assessed and documented within their care plan. People’s needs were reviewed and monitored on a regular basis. People were provided with information on how to make a complaint and who to refer to if they were unhappy with the outcome. The service worked closely with health and social care professionals and with local authorities that commissioned the service to ensure people’s needs were met.

People told us they thought the service was generally well run and staff told us they received good support that enabled them to do their jobs effectively.  There were systems in place to carry out staff spot checks to ensure consistency and quality was maintained whilst supporting people in the community. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities as a registered manager in relation to notifying CQC about reportable incidents. There were effective processes in place to monitor the quality of the service and the registered manager recognised the importance of regularly monitoring the quality of the service provided. People were provided with opportunities to provide feedback about the service.

13 November 2013

During a routine inspection

We spoke with 32 people or their relatives. Everyone we spoke with was complimentary about the service. The comments we received described staff as 'polite', 'friendly', 'respectful', 'helpful' and "thoughtful". People said they were involved in their care planning and knew what was expected of staff. All the people we spoke with told us that they had regular care staff and they mostly arrived on time. For example, one person commented 'we have had the same (staff) for over a year now'she is 100%, I can't fault her at all'. People felt their privacy and dignity were respected and they knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy with the service.

We found that people and their relatives were involved in making decisions about their care and support needs. Each person using the service had a care and support plan in place with relevant risk assessments and action plans to ensure that their needs were met. The provider had appropriate policies and procedures in place to safeguard vulnerable adults. Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work. We found that the provider had systems in place to regularly monitor the quality of the service that people received.

During a check to make sure that the improvements required had been made

When we inspected the service in October 2012 we found that records were not always kept securely because there was no formal policy for handling people's personal information outside of the agency office. The provider wrote to us and told us they would address this concern. In November 2012 we reviewed information the provider sent to us, and found that the provider had taken steps to ensure people's personal information was stored securely.

2 October 2012

During a routine inspection

We spoke with ten people using the service and eight staff at the agency during our inspection. People told us they were very happy with the service and staff were always polite to them. Most people said the staff arrived on time to support them with care. We found that people were consulted with about their care and encouraged to be independent. Staff had a good knowledge of how to respond to any safeguarding concerns and people told us they felt safe with the staff in their homes. The provider had some systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. However we found that records containing personal information were not stored securely in all cases.