The Oaks

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

At our last inspection of the service, we found people were not always well supported and treated with respect by staff. We observed examples of indifferent, uncaring interactions between staff and people receiving care. Some people were getting 1-2-1 support due to distressed behaviours, yet the staff providing the support did not always interact with people or keep them stimulated. The failure to ensure assessments included all of people’s needs was a breach of regulation 9 (Person-centred care) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Following this assessment the registered manager supplied CQC with information relating to activities provided to people living at the home. This included the recruitment of 2 activities coordinators and activities plans for people living at the home. The home had sought information from people about their hobbies, interests and preferences and incorporated these into an activities programme for the home. We found enough improvement had been made, and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation 9.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People told us staff treated them well. Comments from people and their relatives included, “The staff are lovely, overall, I would say that they are very caring and pleasant.” “The staff are very good, always cheerful and considerate” and, “The staff are very nice, and nothing is too much trouble.”

People were supported to meet their cultural and religious needs. A member of staff told us that one person enjoyed going to church on Sundays accompanied by their relative. During our conversations with staff, they were able to tell us about the people they supported and their interests and preferences. Staff we spoke with said staffing levels were good and that they had enough time to carry out their duties without being stressed. Staff told us how they communicated with different people. A member of staff explained that sometimes it wasn't just what was said. For example, they told us it was important to take note of a person's facial expressions as these could show if someone was unhappy or felt unwell, felt down or there was a change in mood.

Feedback from partner agencies was positive. No concerns were raised that people were receiving sub optimal care.

We saw that staff treated people with dignity and respect during our site visits. We observed positive and caring interactions between people and staff. Staff were knowledgeable about people's individual routines, personalities and likes and dislikes. Staff spent time with people providing support and showing care and concern for their well-being. People appeared comfortable in the presence of staff and knew them well.

People told us they were treated with respect. One person told us, “If I want to be alone that is respected and I choose what to wear and enjoy my day in my own way.” another person said, “They consider me as an individual.” A third person told us, “The staff recognise that I am not going to wear underwear or shoes no matter what.”

Staff told us there were no plans to celebrate Pride month due to the lack of an activities coordinator at the service. This left people unable to celebrate this Pride month, and other social/religious dates in the calendar which could be important to people, and demonstrated person centred care was not being delivered in these aspects. A staff member told us, “It’s Pride month this month and we have celebrated Pride in the past but there’s nothing planned this month because we have no activities coordinators at the moment, and they usually do that.” The registered manager told us they were in the process of recruiting people into the activities coordinator post, and a staff member had been taken off reception to cover activities. A member of staff told us, “I have had training on equality and diversity. I have no issues with supporting people no matter what their background is. As a staff team we can support people from different cultures and religions.” The chef told us they prepared meals for people with diverse needs. These included African meals, Turkish eggs, and vegetarian options. People were paired with a member of staff who was named as their keyworker. Staff told us the role of key worker was defined by activities such as checking people’s clothing, ensuring people were well-groomed how they wish to be, knowing their life stories and getting to know their individual wishes and aspirations.

Staff were aware of the importance of providing person centred care and offering people choice in relation to their care and support and how they liked to live their lives. We saw staff knock on doors before entering people’s rooms. We saw staff members treating people in a pleasant and affectionate manner.

We found some people’s care plans did not detail people’s culture, sexuality or relationships. This left people at risk of not having their social, cultural or emotional needs met or understood, and risked the service not adhering to the Equality Act 2010 for these people. We discussed this with the registered manager, who told us this would be reviewed with the aim to improve. People and their relatives where appropriate were involved in decision making, and supported to be involved with reviews of their care. People were supported to personalise their rooms if required. Residents and people’s feedback on care, and improvements to the service was sought through care reviews and resident’s meetings. The provider was meeting the Accessible Information Standard. Staff understood the importance of effective communication. The provider produced information in different formats that met peoples accessibility needs as required. People's communication needs were assessed and documented within their plan of care to ensure staff had relevant information on how best to communicate and support them. People were supported to maintain the relationships that were important to them. Friends and relatives were able to visit people when they wished.

People told us there were some activities available to them at the service. One person said, “There is usually something going on and I like craft work and I liked the baking biscuits, but often I prefer to stay by myself.” Another person told us, “I like the singing, but I don’t want to do much.” A third person commented, “The staff suggest we join in but don’t push it if we don’t want to, I don’t like games and music, but I liked baking biscuits.”

A staff member told us, "On our unit we sing with the residents, play ball games, and go for walks in the garden. Some of the residents go home to stay with family at weekends or out for outings.” A third staff member told us, “A priest visits every Sunday to do communion for residents and staff.” Following the assessment the registered manager confirmed they had recruited 2 activities coordinators and provided us with evidence confirming people had access to a range of activities that met their individual needs. The registered manager told us they had circulated their Sex, Sexuality and Relationships policy for June and were going to undertake another Lifting the Lid training session.” The provider had a visitor’s policy in place. There were no restrictions on visitors, and we observed relatives and people visiting the service service freely throughout our assessment.

On the first day of our assessment, we saw little interaction between staff and people using the service. On 1 unit we observed for 20 minutes and found that people were left to just look around in space. There was no television on or any activities for people to take part in. This left people at risk of neglect and social isolation within the service. During the second day of our assessment, we observed staff leading and engaging in activities with people. These included making puzzles, dancing to music, sitting chatting in the garden and planting in the garden. We saw that a conservatory area was decorated with rainbow coloured bunting to celebrate pride LGBT+ month. Some people and staff wore pride sunglasses and Pride fans. Following the assessment the registered manager confirmed they had recruited 2 activities coordinators and provided us with evidence confirming people had access to a range of activities that met their individual needs.

During the assessment we found there was no activity coordinator in place, and no planned activities for people to partake in. However, we observed staff were proactive in engaging with people to ensure social inclusion and prevent isolation. Following this assessment the registered manager supplied CQC with information relating to activities provided to people living at the home. This included the recruitment of 2 activities coordinators and activities plans for people living at the home. The home had sought information from people about their hobbies, interests and preferences and incorporated these into an activities programme for the home.

People told us staff understood them and were able to respond to their needs. One person told us, “The staff speak slow and listen to me carefully, we manage.” Another person said, “I am slightly hard of hearing in one ear and the staff know which ear is better.” A third person told us, “The staff are patient and go slow.”

The registered manager told us they sought people’s views through residents and relatives’ meetings and surveys. They showed us a ‘You said, we did’ board displayed on a television screen at the entrance to the service. People said they wanted more bed tables; bedside tables had been ordered. The survey indicated that they wanted the environment to be clean and tidy. The registered manager told us they had reviewed the domestic services and recruited more domestic staff.

We observed the GP attended the service to support people with their health needs. Throughout our assessment we observed positive and caring interactions between people and staff. Staff spent time with people providing support and showing care and concern for their well-being.

Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and listened to them. One staff member commented, “I like working at this service. The registered manager is always happy to listen to staff.” Another staff member told us, “The new registered manager has made a big difference, she given us what we need to do our job properly.” Staff told us they received regular supervision. A staff member said, “We have 2 types of supervision – one type to discuss if something is not done. The other supervision is formal and takes place every 3 months. I just had one last month.”

The provider carried out a staff, residents, and relatives survey in 2023. The registered manager told us they had included the feedback from staff and people into the continuous improvement plan of the service. This covered communication, complaints, safeguarding, staff training, staff recruitment, residents and relatives survey, audits, the call bell system. We saw the providers supervision and training records. These confirmed that staff were receiving support and training that enabled staff to fulfil their roles.