St Lukes and The Oaks Care Home

Updated 21 August 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was completed by two adult social care 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. The Expert by Experience had experience of caring for older people.

Service and service type:

St Lukes and The Oaks Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This unannounced inspection took place on 25 and 26 June 2019.

What we did before inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people, two relatives and a volunteer. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) on The Oaks, which is one of the dementia units. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We also spoke to eight care staff, the chef, an apprentice, the handyman, a cleaner, the housekeeper, the activities co-ordinator, the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We reviewed four people’s care plans and five staff files. We reviewed people’s medication records, staffing rosters and records related to the management of the service.

Updated 21 August 2019

About the service:

St Lukes and The Oaks Care Home is a residential care home that was providing personal and nursing care to 68 older people at the time of the inspection. There are three units, St Lukes, which provides residential care, Lilac which supports people with higher care needs including dementia and The Oaks which supports people living with dementia.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

People benefited from the registered managers dynamic approach which inspired the staff team to engage with multiple projects and ideas aimed at improving people’s quality of life. The service was very outward facing and there were strong links with many different organisations in the local community. This resulted in a wide variety of visitors to the service for people to meet and interact with. In addition to a range of initiatives run with local organisations for the benefit of people staff had initiated a variety of projects to increase people’s mobility which had led to people experiencing less falls.

The environment was exceptionally dementia friendly. It was highly stimulating and interesting for people living with dementia. All people, including those with more advanced dementia had been consulted about what they wanted. As a result they had an enriching and fulfilling environment which reflected their wishes and preferences. People living with dementia were already benefiting from the provider’s introduction of their, ‘Rose model of dementia care.’ Observations of people’s individual dining experiences had led to improvements for people. Staff were highly attentive to people’s needs during the lunch service and provided constant information about what was happening and reassurance.

The registered manager had identified through their audits of the service, not all staff were up to date with the providers refresher training. An action plan had been implemented to ensure this work was completed.

People were kept safe from the risk of abuse. Measures were in place to ensure any potential risks to them were identified and managed safely. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. People received their medicines safely from trained and competent staff. The environment was kept clean for people.

Staff worked effectively with external professionals to ensure people’s healthcare needs were met. People were provided with a balanced diet that met their dietary and fluid needs. 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.

Staff were observed to treat people with compassion and kindness throughout the inspection. Staff ensured people were involved in decisions about their care wherever possible. People’s privacy and dignity were upheld during the provision of their care.

People received responsive care from staff who were skilled at responding to their needs. Processes were in place to seek, investigate and act upon people’s complaints. People were appropriately supported at the end of their lives.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated good (12 October 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

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.