We carried out a review of the data available to us about Housing 21 - Oakley Gardens on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Housing 21 - Oakley Gardens, you can give feedback on this service.
Oakley gardens is an extra care service, where people live in their own flats in a purpose-built building. It was providing personal care to 62 people at the time of the inspection. People had a range of support needs such as younger and older adults and those living with a learning, physical or sensory disability,
People's experience of using this service:
People received outstanding care and support by a dedicated staff team that were committed, passionate and knowledgeable. People and their relatives were highly complementary about the care provided. They told us they experienced exceptionally good care which had positive impacts on their well-being and happiness. People described staff as exceptional friendly and supportive of them. Staff demonstrated strong caring values which were embedded in the service. There were many examples of compassionate care with staff using their own time to ensure people’s well-being.
People, their relatives and external professionals spoke highly about the service. People said they enjoyed a high level of social activity and community involvement and that their quality of life had improved.
Staff were knowledgeable and skilled and had been well supported with their training to understand and meet people’s needs. The registered manager was involved in several initiatives to improve people’s health and well-being and had strong links with organisations to gain and share skills and knowledge. This extended to providing knowledge and expertise to organisations in the wider community. There were strong links with health and social care services and people received a coordinated and consistent service. People were actively supported with their dietary needs and positive steps had been taken to promote people’s fluid intake. 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 supported this.
Staff had gone above and beyond to ensure people at the end of their life received compassionate care. Staff empathy and commitment to people was reflected in how they used their own time to sit and comfort people and support their wishes during this time.
People, staff and external professionals were extremely confident in the management of the service. Everyone described an open culture in which they felt listened to. The enthusiasm of the provider, registered manager and team to continuously improve the service was evident in their commitment and dedication. There were effective quality assurance processes which supported the maintenance of the high quality of care people received. Staff were valued, and their achievements were recognised and rewarded. Teamwork was evident with staff working closely together in delivering the values of the service. People were actively involved in the service and their feedback had led to improvements.
People felt safe within the service and risks to their personal safety had been well managed. Staff fully understood their safeguarding role and people had been provided with information on how to keep safe. There were safe processes for supporting people with their medicines. Staff followed infection control procedures to ensure people were protected from the risk of cross infection.
Rating at last inspection: The last rating for this service was Good (published 5 January 2017).
Why we inspected This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Oakley Gardens provides Extra Care Housing provision for adults, providing personal care and support within a complex of 81 flats. Staff provide care at pre-arranged times and people have access to call bells for staff to respond to whenever additional help is required. People have communal facilities including lounges and a restaurant available to them. At the time of our visit the service was providing personal care to 60 people at the service.
The service has a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 had mixed experiences of the levels of staff at the service, with some feedback describing staff being rushed and not staying for the full length of care calls. Staff had a good understanding of what they would do should they suspected or witnessed abuse. Risks to people’s health had been assessed, regularly reviewed and were well understood by staff. Regular monitoring and analysis of incidents that occurred at the service was undertaken to identify and act upon any patterns or trends developing. The provider operated safe recruitment practices. People were appropriately supported by staff with their medicines.
People were supported by competent staff that had regular supervision and had undertaken an effective induction when they started working at the service. Training provided to staff developed their knowledge and skills. Management and staff understood their responsibility to comply with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and supported people in line with these principles. People were supported and monitored to ensure they ate and drank sufficiently. People were supported by staff as required to access the healthcare they needed if they felt unwell.
People had positive caring relationships with the staff that were supporting them. Plans of care described people’s abilities, preferences and wishes for staff to refer to if they were unfamiliar with the person’s needs. People were supported to make day to day choices relating to how their care was provided. Staff were mindful of preserving people’s privacy and dignity and demonstrated this in their daily interactions with them. People were actively encouraged to be as independent as possible, according to their individual abilities. Information was kept confidentially and stored securely.
People received the care and support they required which was responsive to their needs. Pre admission information was sought and used to develop a detailed care plan when the person moved into the service. Effective systems were in place for staff to be aware of and to communicate about peoples changing needs and wellbeing. People’s preferences and interests were well known and understood by staff. When people raised concerns or complaints, the provider responded and acted promptly to address these.
Overall people were positive about how effectively the service was managed. The provider promoted an open and inclusive culture within the service with people and staff able to freely raise any concerns they had. Staff were clear about the leadership structure within the service. The registered manager was well supported by the provider in terms of how they developed and monitored the quality of the service. The registered manager understood their responsibilities for reporting certain incidents and events to us that had occurred at the service or affected people who used the service. The quality of the service was monitored in a variety of ways including through audits, satisfaction surveys, staff speaking with people during planned visits and spot checks.