About the service Little Oaks is a care home providing personal care to people aged 65 and over. The care home accommodates 14 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection, 13 people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Significant improvements had been made to the service since our last inspection. This included the internal environment, an accessible complaints process and a robust plan for continued improvement with clear timescales. However, some further improvements were needed.
People's care plans were personalised to help staff provide person-centred care but they were not always done in a timely way. Staff knew and respected people's preferences, routines, likes and dislikes and provided care and support the way they wanted. Some improvements were needed to the timeliness of the assessments.
We made a recommendation that the provider to review their approach to planning and assessing of people’s needs.
There were limited opportunities for people to engage in group or individual social and leisure activities in or outside of the service.
We made a recommendation that the provider consider best practice guidance in relation to social and leisure interests for people who used the service.
People told us they were safe using the service. Staff knew people well including any risks and how to manage them to keep them safe. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been safely recruited. Medicines were safely managed by staff who were trained and competent. People were protected from the risk of infection as prevention and control measures were in place.
Staff received training, supervision and appraisals to give them the skills and knowledge to do their job. Improvements to the environment continued to be completed through an ongoing improvement plan. 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 access to a range of good food and drink which met their needs and preferences. Referrals to health care professionals were made in a timely way to maintain people’s health and wellbeing.
Staff were kind and caring and knew people well. People felt listened to and included in decisions about their care and support. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and maintained their privacy. People were encouraged to be independent and were supported to maintain important relationships.
People and their relatives were included in reviews of their care and support. If people had end of life needs and preferences, these were explored and documented. The complaints process had been updated and was now accessible should people need to use it.
The service was well led by an experienced registered manager who promoted a person-centred, open and inclusive culture. People, relatives and staff were positive about the management and improvements made to the service. The quality assurance processes were still in need of improvement to ensure the monitoring and oversight of all aspects of the service was in place and effective.
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 3 July 2018) with recommendations. At this inspection, the service was still Requires Improvement with two recommendations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk