Oaklands - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities

Updated 1 September 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Oaklands is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Oaklands is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. e used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, an operations manager, the maintenance person, the cook and 3 care workers. We reviewed a range of records. These included 5 people’s care records including medication records. We looked at information in relation to the recruitment and supervision of staff. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including some policies and procedures.

Updated 1 September 2023

Oaklands – Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities (Oaklands) is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 30 older and younger people with a range of complex nursing and physical needs. At the time of this inspection the home was fully occupied. Accommodation is provided over 2 floors with several communal areas including an activities room on the ground floor.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

People told us they were very happy with the care they received. We found improvements had been made since our last inspection to the assessing and monitoring of risks and to the oversight of the quality and safety of the service.

Some staff employed had not had all the required checks completed for working with vulnerable people before they began their employment. There were enough staff available to provide care and support to people as they needed it and in the event of an emergency.

We have made a recommendation that the recruitment processes used include all of the required checks of suitability to work with vulnerable people.

Risk assessments were in place to monitor and minimise the potential risk of avoidable harm to people. Systems were in place to record accidents and incidents. These were consistently monitored to identify any lessons learned, themes or trends. Safeguarding incidents were identified and shared with relevant authorities.

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's care and support had been planned in partnership with them and their relatives where possible.

People told us they felt the staff were well trained to meet their needs. Records demonstrated appropriate and relevant training was completed. Referrals were made to other healthcare services where necessary.

People told us the staff treated them with respect and dignity and were kind and caring towards them. Care plans demonstrated a person-centred approach. People’s individual needs were responded to well and people were extremely satisfied with the service. Concerns and complaints were promptly responded to.

There was a positive culture in the home, people spoke very highly about the staff who cared for them and all the staff we spoke to told us they really enjoyed their jobs. There were improved, communications, systems and processes used to ensure regular oversight of the safety and quality of the service. The registered manager and staff had worked hard to improve people's experiences and to address shortfalls found at the last inspection driving improvements at the home.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 03 December 2021).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider ensured a good level of cleanliness throughout the home and improved storage space for large pieces of unused equipment. Care files needed more detailed to show the support people preferred. The recording of staff supervision and training needed to be more accurately recorded and people's privacy and dignity to be promoted at all times

At this inspection we found the provider had acted on all of the recommendations and we saw where improvements had been made.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective, caring and well-led which contain those requirements.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oaklands – Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation that the recruitment processes used include all of the required checks of suitability to work with vulnerable people.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.