Linden House

Updated 26 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 3 March 2022 and was announced. We gave the service one hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 26 March 2022

About the service

Linden House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 16 people. At the time of the inspection 16 people were living at the service.

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

People felt safe living at Linden House and steps had been taken to protect people from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. People were protected from the risk of infection and from the risks associated with the management and administration of medicines. There were enough staff available so that people received timely care. Checks on staff were completed as part of the recruitment process to help the provider employ staff who were suitable for the role. Processes were in place to help ensure any lessons learnt were identified if things went wrong.

Assessments of people’s health, care and well-being needs were in place. Staff had been trained, and were checked for their competence, in areas relevant to people’s needs. People received food and drink to meet their needs and different choices and alternatives were available to suit people’s different preferences. Staff worked with other health and social care professionals to ensure people received effective care. The premises had adaptions to ensure people’s needs were met.

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.

Staff were kind and took time to be with people. Staff supported people’s independence, respected their privacy and dignity and equality and diversity needs. People were involved in decisions about their care and treatment.

Staff knew people well and were able to provide responsive and personalised care. People enjoyed a range of activities and entertainment. Staff understood how to communicate with people and people’s communication needs were assessed. A complaints policy was in place and followed to ensure when any complaints or feedback was received this would be investigated and resolved. No-one was in receipt of end-of-life care at the time of our inspection, however staff were confident to work with other healthcare professionals should this care be required.

The registered manager provided clear leadership to the staff team and understood their role. The registered manager had systems and processes in place to help ensure risks were managed and people received quality care. The service was run with an open and approachable management style that was inclusive of people and staff views. Systems were in place to ensure the views of people and staff were listened to and acted on. The service worked well with other professionals and took opportunities for continuous learning and improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 13 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.