The Oaks Care Home

Updated 10 October 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

Two inspectors and an expert by experience completed the inspection. 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

The Oaks Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as single package dependent on their registration with us. The Oaks Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, we sought feedback from the local authority and other health professionals. 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We met with 7 people who used the service and contacted 5 relatives. We spoke with the provider, the office manager, 2 senior care workers, 4 support workers and a volunteer who regularly visited the service. We also emailed the full staff team to ask their views about the service, and the majority responded.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records, medicine records and staff files. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits.

Updated 10 October 2023

About the service

The Oaks Care Home is a residential service providing personal care for up to 9 people with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were 9 people living at the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

People’s care records needed to be improved to ensure they helped staff offer the support people needed because these did not clearly, concisely and accurately outline presenting issues. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Generally, staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. The care records at times did not demonstrate this was always happening. Infection prevention and control practices reflected current guidance. The audit documents used for monitoring room cleanliness needed to be used more effectively. The provider was in the process of addressing these issues as well as refurbishing the service. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals. People were supported safely with medicines.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Following our discussions, the provider was seeking additional training for staff around working with people who become distressed; the service worked well with other agencies to do so. People’s care, treatment and support plans generally reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. The provider was working to ensure these were concise and reflected key aspects of people’s needs.

Right culture

The existing range of tools the provider used to oversee the service were not effective. The provider understood they needed to create a robust governance system, which would evidence all required checks had been completed. They had become aware the existing policies were out-dated and were in the process of renewing and updating these. They also took action to improve their records related to the recruitment of staff. People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments, or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs, and rights at the heart of everything they did. Staff were aware of and were working to best practice guidance for supporting people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

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 14 December 2022, and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to record keeping and the governance systems. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.