Linfield Care Limited - 37a-38a Eastgate Street

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.”Registering the Right Support CQC policy.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last 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.

People continued to receive safe care. Individual risks to people were considered and reviewed when needed. There were enough suitably recruited staff available to offer support to people and medicines were managed in a safe way. There were safeguarding procedures in place and these were followed when needed. Infection control procedures were in place and followed. There were systems in place to ensure lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

People continued to receive effective care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were involved with preparing their meals and were supported to make choices. Staff received training and an induction that helped them to support people. When needed people received support from health professionals.

People continued to be supported in a caring way by staff they were happy with. People's privacy and dignity was promoted and people continued to be offered choices. People were encouraged to be independent and maintain relationships that were important to them.

People continued to receive responsive care. Staff knew people well and their preferences were considered. People had the opportunity to participate in activities they enjoyed. Complaint procedures were in place and followed when needed.

The service remained well led. Quality assurance systems were in place to identify where improvements could be made and when needed these changes were made. The provider notified us of significant events that occurred within the home. Feedback was sought from people and their relatives and this was used to bring about changes.

Linfield Care Limited provides personal care to people with learning disabilities in their own homes. There were 25 people using the service at the time of the 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.

Staff knew what constituted abuse and who they should report it to if they thought someone had been abused.

Risks to people were assessed and minimised through the effective use of risk assessment and staff knowledge of people and their risks. There were sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff to keep people safe. They had been employed using safe recruitment procedures.

Medication was administered by trained staff who had been assessed as competent prior to administering alone.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect people who cannot make decisions for themselves or lack the mental capacity to do so. The provider worked within the guidelines of the MCA which ensured that people consented to their care, treatment and support with the support of their representatives if they lacked capacity.

Care was personalised and met people’s individual needs and preferences. The provider had a complaints procedure and people knew how to use it.

Staff were supported to fulfil their role effectively. There was a regular programme of training that was relevant to the needs of people, which was kept up to date.

People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain a healthy lifestyle dependent on their specific needs.

When people became unwell staff responded and sought the appropriate support.

Staff were observed to be kind and caring. Staff felt supported and motivated to fulfil their role. They knew how to whistle blow and felt assured that their concerns would be taken seriously.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service.

In the office we met and spoke with the provider, the operations manager and one team leader. On the telephone we spoke with three support workers, four people who used the service and four relatives of people that used the service.

During the inspection we looked at one person's support plan in detail and saw that all care records were stored on the computer system We reviewed the supervision records of six staff. We looked at how medication administration was supported by the staff and we reviewed the service's complaints procedure, the logged complaints and discussed a current complaint.

We spoke with a Staffordshire County Council commissioning officer who had inspected the service in July 2013, there had been no recommendations made at that time.

The agency had been established for 18 years and currently had 27 people using the service.

People gave us all positive feedback to our questions. One relative told us, 'The staff have been excellent in involving us with the care. They are very flexible and accommodating. We have never had cause to complain or change any of the decisions. The staff are very professional, friendly and thoughtful. The service sends out questionnaires to collect our views, they spot check the staff and I know they audit the care provided'.

One person who used the service told us, 'The staff are kind. I feel safe. I go shopping sometimes. I had a nice Christmas. Everything is alright'.

We spoke with four staff about working for the service. They all told us they were supported working in the community and felt they had been trained sufficiently to carry out their role. Each person had been through a thorough recruitment and induction programme. We visited the office and looked at care records, recruitment and training records and the quality assurance system. We found the service to be compliant in all five outcomes we looked at.