Link-Ability (West Lancs)

Updated 24 January 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was undertaken by an adult social care inspector, a specialist advisor learning disability nurse, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. This expert by experience had experience of supporting people living with a learning disability.

Service and service type:

This service provides care and support to people living in three ‘supported living’ settings, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. The Care Quality Commission does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support. The service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing. It provides a service to younger disabled adults and adults who have a learning disability.

The service had a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because people who used the service are often out of their homes and the manager is often out of the office supporting staff. We needed to be sure that they would be in.

What we did:

Prior to our inspection we looked at all of the information we held about the service. This included any safeguarding investigations, incidents and feedback about the service provided. We looked at any statutory notifications that the provider is required to send to us by law. We also looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted professionals who provided feedback about their experiences of the service. We used a planning tool to collate all this evidence and information prior to visiting the service.

We spoke with four people who used the service and four parents of people who used the service. We also spoke with three support workers, one senior support worker and the manager who took overall responsibility for the service. We looked at a variety of records which included the care files for four people who used the service and three staff files. We also reviewed a number of records relating to the operation and monitoring of the service. These included, audits and senior management team meetings. Along with feedback about the service, training records duty rotas and team meetings.

Updated 24 January 2019

About the service: Link-Ability (West Lancs) provides support to adults of all ages and young people in transition to adult hood both in their own homes and in a supported living setting. Some of the people they support have additional needs such as autism, sensory impairment (difficulty in seeing and or hearing), physical disability or need a higher level of care such as monitoring of their health. The 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. At the time of the inspection 14 people accessed services provided by Link-Ability (West-Lancs).

People’s experience of using this service: People who used the service and their representatives told us they were supported in a safe way, we found staff had good understanding of safeguarding adults and systems were robust to protect people from avoidable harm, neglect and abuse. People who used the service were encouraged to manage their medicines in a safe way and for those who needed staff support to manage their medicines, we found the service followed best practice procedures. People were individually risk assessed and environmental safety risk assessments were undertaken and reviewed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s needs and choices were assessed and their care and support was delivered to achieve effective outcomes.

People who used the service were supported to maintain a balanced diet and nutritional assessments were undertaken in a person-centred way. The provider made sure staff were safely recruited and supported throughout their employment. Staff received training that helped them understand the needs of people they supported.

People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion and given emotional support when needed. Care plans included person-centred information and we found people were encouraged to maintain their independence. People's individual needs and interests were well understood by the staff that supported them.

People who accessed the service for supported living or domiciliary care were encouraged to maintain an independent lifestyle as much as possible and the service demonstrated an inclusive ethos that enabled people to be in control of their lives.

We observed staff support and interact with people in a kind way. We saw that staff had built trusting relationships with people who accessed the service and staff told us this was a key part to keeping people safe.

The service had a robust system for responding to people's complaints and collating feedback. People were consistently positive about the leadership and management of the service. We found that the provider had effective management systems to monitor and quality assure all aspects of the service. Quality assurance records showed that shortfalls were quickly addressed and learnt from.

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection since the service registered with the Care Quality Commission 18 October 2017.

Follow up: We will return to reinspect the service as per our inspection programme. We will continue to monitor any information we receive about the service and we will bring the inspection forward if we receive any concerning information.