Archived: High Oaks Community Care and Support

Updated 31 January 2017

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 16 December 2016 and was unannounced.

Before the inspection, we sent our Domiciliary Care Agency questionnaires to three people using the service, four staff, and three relatives to gain their views about the service. We received a completed questionnaire from one person using the service and four completed questionnaires by staff.

We looked at all of the information that we had about the service. This included the Provider Information Record (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at information from notifications received by us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

We spoke with one person using the service and one member of staff. We spoke with the service's registered provider representative, the registered manager and the deputy manager in the service’s office.

We looked at one person’s care records and records in relation to the management of the service and staff.

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Updated 31 January 2017

High Oaks Community Care and Support provides a domiciliary care service. The range of people that use this service include older people, some of whom may be living with dementia, people with learning disabilities or mental health needs. At the time of this inspection one person was using the service for the regulated activity of personal care. The service was also providing support to a further four people in the community to do day-to-day things that may have become more difficult, due to their physical or mental health needs. For example, social activities and attending hospital appointments.

We inspected this service on 16 December 2016. The inspection was unannounced.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Systems were in place to manage risks to people using the service and staff. Assessments were in place which gave staff clear direction as to what action they needed to take to minimise risk. These included safeguarding matters and the security arrangements for gaining access to a person’s home and lone working.

Staff do not currently administer people’s prescribed medicines, other than topical medicines such as creams and ointments. There was no proper record kept to reflect that these had been administered in line with the prescribing instruction. We recommend that a proper record of all medicines administered to people by staff should be kept in accordance with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society guidance: The Handling of Medicines in Social Care.

People’s scheduled visits were consistently provided at the time they wanted them, and staff arrived on time. People received care and support that met their needs. They were involved in determining the kind of care and support they needed and were helped to retain their independence. People had sufficient amounts to eat and drink and were supported to access health care professionals, when they needed them.

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). These safeguards protect the rights of adults who used the service. This is by ensuring that if there are restrictions on their freedom and liberty these were assessed by professionals who considered whether the restriction is appropriate and needed.

A thorough recruitment and selection process was in place. This ensured staff recruited had the right skills and experience, and were suitable to work with people who used the service. Staff knew the care needs of the people they supported well. This was because staff had received training that gave them the skills and knowledge to meet people’s specific needs.

Staff felt supported by the management team and felt there was good leadership in the service. Staff were clear about the vision and values of the service as set out in the staff code of conduct. These referred to providing a service where people were empowered and treated with dignity, respect and equality.

Systems were in place to assess, monitor and further develop the quality of the service. This included obtaining and acting on feedback from people using the service, relatives, staff and other professionals. Arrangements were in place to respond to concerns and complaints.