Oaklands

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

People and their representatives were involved in the assessing and planning of the person’s needs. Assessments of people’s care considered their emotional and physical wellbeing, communication and communication needs. The service worked with other health and social care professionals to support people and provide consistency in care. Staff worked together to share information about the people they were supporting to ensure people received consistent care. Information was shared via staff meetings and daily handovers. We found the service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty. Any conditions related to DoLS authorisations were being met.

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 and their representatives were involved in the assessing and planning of the person’s needs. One relative told us, “We are involved in planning via frequent telephone calls from us to them. We attend MDT (multi-disciplinary team) meetings either in person or by zoom and teams. We speak with them both formally and informally.”

The service worked alongside other health and social care professionals when assessing people’s needs. One health care professional commented, “I have been involved with the clients at Oaklands for attending monthly and 3 monthly MDTs for these clients depending upon need.” Staff meetings and supervisions were used as an opportunity for staff to reflect on the care they were providing and if it was meeting people’s needs. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of people’s care needs. One member of staff told us, “I did have allocated time to read care plans when I first started. However, I learned more about people’s needs from shadowing my mentor.”

Assessments of people’s care considered their emotional and physical wellbeing, communication and communication needs. These were regularly reviewed to ensure people’s care plans remained up to date and relevant. People’s communication needs were assessed, and plans were in place to support staff to be able to communicate effectively with people. There was a communication grab sheet available to support staff to communicate effectively with people. This included information on how the person communicates. For example, one person was able to let staff know their basic needs verbally. They also had access to picture cards.

People and their representatives were involved in the assessing and planning of the person’s needs. They were involved in regularly reviewing the person's care and support needs. People's nutritional and hydrational needs were assessed monitored where required. People had access to regular drinks and snacks in between meal times. People were also able to go out for meals, should they wish to. We discussed with the registered manager and deputy manager our observations of lunchtimes and how busy this experience was for some people with lots of staff coming and going in the dining area. They stated they would review lunchtime arrangements to ensure the environment supported people to access a lets busy dining experience.

People's dietary needs and preferences were documented and known by catering staff and care staff. Catering staff were aware of people dietary needs including having cultural awareness of people's dietary requirements. Catering staff were involved in educating staff about food and healthy diets. Staff were supported to stay up to date with training in relevant topics to ensure they understood and were able to meet people’s needs.

Care plans showed the service worked in partnership with other agencies to meet people's health and wellbeing. When people moved between services all necessary health and social care professionals were involved. There was evidence of meetings to support people to move from a period in hospital back to the service, ensuring a safe discharge was in place and the service could support the person. We obtained feedback about the service from care professionals who worked alongside them to ensure people received the correct care and support. One professional told us, “On all of my visits I have always found the staff to be very friendly and welcoming. I have got to know some of them well and have seen first-hand how kind and compassionate they treat service users. I am always kept up to date regarding any safeguarding incidents in a timely manner and feel that management are open and honest regarding any incidents which need to be escalated to myself and other partner agencies.”

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

People were supported to understand the care and support being provided by staff. People and their representatives were involved in the assessing and planning of the person’s needs. This enabled people to consent to their care where they were able or wished to.

Care plans contained information on people’s likes, dislikes and preferences for how they wished to receive their care and support. Where required people had access to advocates. Staff understood the principles of capacity and consent and we saw staff encouraged and supported people to make choices and decisions about their day.

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. The provider assessed people's mental capacity and made decisions in their best interests. We found the service was working within the principles of the MCA and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty. Any conditions related to DoLS authorisations were being met.