Oakwood Court

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture. At our last inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

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.

The service had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.  People and their relatives were asked for opinions and feedback through meetings, surveys and using the anonymous suggestion boxes. Results were analysed and high satisfaction results were noted. Where suggestions were made, a ‘you said, we’re doing’ document was produced to advise on changes made based on feedback. The registered manager understood the challenges some people experienced due to a decline in physical or cognitive abilities and ensured staff received training to enable them to care for people in line with their needs.

The service had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty. The registered manager had worked at Oakwood Court for many years in various roles which enabled them to understand and help overcome challenges their staff had faced. A values workshop was held for staff to contribute to the service’s values which helped to embed them in practice. Staff spoke of the support they received from the management team and told us they could give suggestions and ideas; staff also completed surveys and were listened to. Actions from incidents, safeguarding and audits were shared to instil a culture of learning and transparency.

The service fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us they felt comfortable to speak up and gave examples when they have. The registered manager told us, “I am approachable, my door is open, we have staff representative. [Staff representative] would also be involved in speaking up.” Senior managers undertook reviews to ensure staff could speak up and took wider learning from concerns raised across the provider’s other services. Staff were enabled to remain anonymous when they wished. There were posters with details on how to whistle-blow for staff to refer to if needed and staff could access the whistle-blowing policy.

The service strongly valued diversity in their workforce. They had an inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who work for them. The management team celebrated the workforce’s diverse range of backgrounds, skills and experiences. A map of the world was displayed with photographs of staff showing what countries they were born in. Staff recruited from overseas were supported to adapt to life in the UK by the mentorship of other staff. All staff told us they felt respected and valued. Comments included, “We are doing team building days, we have a good staff morale here, that’s why I'm still here.” And, “I am happy working there and don’t face any problems with the manager and the residents there, all of them are just lovely.” The provider held a staff committee where staff representatives from all of their services would meet and discuss topics raised by staff, staff told us there would usually be a positive resolution following the committee meetings including pay awards and employee benefits. Staff told us how management had listened when they requested more staff for night shifts and had recruited to fill the role. These positive measures the provider put in place meant they had experienced excellent retention of staff. This meant people experienced a continuity of support and could develop meaningful relationships with staff.

The service had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and mostly shared this securely with others when appropriate. Quality assurance processes were in place and were effective in identifying most shortfalls. The quality of record keeping in relation to people’s progress notes were not always detailed. This did not reflect the positive experiences people and their relatives told us about, what staff said and our observations. Minutes of staff meetings highlighted the lack of detail in progress notes; however, improvements had not been made. The registered manager told us they had arranged for an additional workshop to ensure records were more detailed and appropriate language was used. The registered manager understood their duty to notify CQC of events within the service. However, on two occasions notifications had not been submitted. The manager rectified this following the assessment.

The service understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services work seamlessly for people. They share information and learning with partners and collaborate for improvement. The management team had good working relationships with health and social care professionals. A healthcare professional said, “Staff are always very welcoming and helpful, there is always a lot of staff present where the residents are situated lounge/dining area when we visit and we see the same staff regularly so have been able to build a good rapport. They are friendly approachable and helpful. When asking any questions about the needs of particular residents they answer any queries and if they don’t know they will find someone who does.” The service linked with other local care homes to share knowledge and for social events for people in the service.

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contribute to safe, effective practice and research. In response to feedback about hearing aid maintenance, staff had contacted ‘Action for Deafness’ to support the staff with care and maintenance of hearing aids. The registered manager attended meetings with other managers of the provider’s services, to share learned lessons and best practice. The registered manager and management team belonged to management groups and forums to keep their knowledge current and relevant. The management team spent some time at a care village which specialised in dementia care and had identified areas of practice they planned to introduce at Oakwood Court. These included assistive technology to improve people’s well-being. They told us of other initiatives, such as, linking with the local college where health and social care students spent time with people and staff.