The Oaklands

Updated 24 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 9 December 2020 and was unannounced.

Updated 24 December 2020

We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 7 December 2017.

The Oaklands is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. Some people also attended this service for a short, respite period. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Oaklands accommodates up 20 people living with mental health needs and/or learning disabilities and an autistic spectrum disorder in three separate bungalows. On the day of our inspection 19 people were living at the service and one person was staying for a short, respite period.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

A registered manager was present during the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People’s medicines were managed appropriately and safely. People were protected against the risks of experiencing avoidable harm and staff understood how to protect people. Regular assessments of the risks to people’s safety were carried out, where risks were identified these were managed safely and effectively. People were supported by an appropriate number of skilled and experienced staff and safe recruitment procedures were in place. Safe infection control practices were in place and equipment was well maintained. Accidents and incidents were regularly reviewed, assessed and investigated by the registered manager.

People’s physical, mental health and social needs were assessed and provided in line with current legislation and best practice guidelines. Staff were well trained, received continued professional development and had the quality of their performance regularly reviewed. People were empowered to make choices about their food and people’s nutritional intake was monitored where needed. The registered manager had built effective relationships with external health and social care organisations and people’s health was regularly monitored. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People had excellent, meaningful relationships with the staff. People were treated with respect and dignity and staff were very kind, caring and compassionate towards them. Providing dignified care was a fundamental aim of the provider and staff understood how to support people appropriately. Independence was widely encouraged and innovative methods were used to communicate with people as well as to support people with remaining independent. People felt able to contribute to decisions about the support needs and always felt staff acted on their wishes. People’s rights were always respected. Staff rotas were flexible and regularly amended to ensure people were able to be supported by the staff they wanted. People were provided with the information they needed if they wished to speak with an independent advocate, to support them with decisions about their care. People’s friends and relatives were able to visit whenever they wanted to and people were supported to develop and maintain relationships with family and friends.

People received person centred support focused on what mattered most to them. People were fully involved with the on-going development of their support needs. People were encouraged to achieve their goals and to partake in activities that were important to them. People were provided with the information they needed, in a format they could understand, if they wished to make a complaint. People were treated equally, without discrimination and systems were in place to support people who had communication needs. People felt able to make a complaint and were confident it would be dealt with appropriately. Effective end of life support was available should people require it.

People, staff and health and social care professionals spoke highly of the registered manager. The provider was supportive in ensuring the registered manager had the resources they needed to carry out their role effectively. People were encouraged to aim high and to succeed in life. All people were given opportunities to do so. The Oaklands’ approach to community involvement ensured people from within the service, other adult social care services and the wider community were able to meet together and build positive relationships. The continued development of the skills and performance of the staff was integral to the success of the home. People who used the service were invited to attend committee meetings with the aim of improving staff performance and the service they received. Quality assurance processes were in place and staff were empowered to carry out many of these on behalf of the registered manager.