The Oak Foundation

Updated 15 March 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats and specialist housing.

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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 31 January 2023 and ended on 14 February 2023. We visited the location’s office on the 31 January and 9 February 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager and service manager, 4 care staff and 1 relative. We reviewed 1 person’s care records including their risk assessment and care plan. We reviewed 5 recruitment, training and supervision records and other records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 15 March 2023

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.

About the service

The Oak Foundation is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to support people with a learning disability, autistic people, sensory impairment and physical disability. At the time of our inspection 1 person was using the service.

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

Right Support:

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to access their local community to feel included within society and to participate in activities they enjoyed. Staff were supported with appropriate training to provide them with the skills and knowledge to care for people with a learning disability and autistic people. Consent to care was requested from people’s relatives and staff engaged with people to try and enable decision making from people who could not use words to communicate.

Right Care:

People were kept safe while using the service and managers ensured staff were present at all times where people required 24-hour care. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and people received care from staff who had been recruited in line with the providers policy.

People received care from a staff team who were kind and patient and truly wanted to help people have a better life. Staff were respectful of people’s individual needs and how to support them in a way that respected their privacy and dignity. Staff did not discriminate against people who used the service, and all were welcome to use the service at The Oak Foundation. People’s care plans were personalised, and the management team told us they worked with people and their families to find the best way to support people at all times.

Right Culture:

The registered manager and service manager were focused on providing a quality service for people to ensure they were not excluded from society and could live their lives. Managers at the service were encouraging to their staff team and provided plenty of opportunities for staff to discuss any concerns they may have and to talk about what was working well with people’s care and how to improve it. Feedback from staff and relatives was important to the service to help them develop the care provision for people and to support staff where needed. Quality systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 3 December 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow up

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