Archived: Linden Court

Linden Court is an extra care service. People using the service lived in their own self- contained flats with access to shared facilities including a lounge, laundry and dining area. Meals were provided as part of people’s tenancy arrangements. At the time of our inspection the service was providing care to five people.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service

People using the service told us they were happy living there. People spoke of being treated with kindness and told us that staff listened to them and had come to know them well. A person told us “Their heart is in what they are doing, they are genuine.”

Care plans reflected what was important to people, including their families and their preferences for daily living. People’s views were sought and recorded on their care and their future wishes. Care plans were reviewed regularly to ensure that they met people’s needs.

The service worked to protect people from the risks of contracting COVID-19 and to ensure that they were able to access meaningful activities and maintain contact with family and friends. There were clear procedures for visitors to follow and staff had access to appropriate equipment to reduce the risk of infection but not a clear audit of these procedures. We have made a recommendation about how the provider audits its infection control procedures.

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 had support to eat and drink and stay well. This included supporting people to access local health services and providing meals for people to eat in communal spaces. Communal spaces and activities were used to ensure a sense of community and protect people from the risk of isolation; people had ownership of this and were encouraged to socialise and lead organised activities.

People were safeguarded from abuse and improper treatment, as staff were trained in recognising signs of abuse and reporting this appropriately. There were suitable systems for assessing risk to people’s wellbeing and putting plans in place to mitigate these. The provider carried out regular checks to ensure people were safe in the building and people were able to call for assistance as required. The service ensured people’s medicines were safely managed and checked.

Staff were safely recruited in line with best practice and there were enough staff to safely meet people’s needs. Care workers received suitable induction and training to carry out their roles, and managers made observations of staff skills and behaviours.

The management team of the service engaged with people to ensure their views were reflected in the running of the service. Staff spoke of being well supported and there were good systems of communication and lines of responsibility. Staff were allocated lead roles which encouraged them to take responsibility for important areas of service delivery and to develop their knowledge and confidence. Managers were open and honest when things had gone wrong and had a culture of learning and improvement to ensure the service continued to develop.

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 15 October 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We carried out this inspection following a routine review of information we held about this service. Our analysis of the information showed we needed to assess all the key questions.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.