Archived: Great Oaks

Updated 1 August 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

The inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors and a specialist pharmacist who looked at medicines management within the home.

Service and service type

Great Oaks is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Great Oaks is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, clinical commissioning group and the safeguarding team. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to 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 spoke with 7 people and relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and received feedback from 16 members of staff. This included, but not limited to, the nominated individual, deputy manager, clinical lead, operations manager, maintenance officer, nurses, care practitioners, and care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We looked at 6 people's care records, 3 recruitment files and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 1 August 2023

About the service

Great Oaks is a purpose-built home in a residential area of Bournemouth. It is registered to provide care, treatment, and support for up to 80 older people some who were living with dementia. The home is split over three floors which are accessible by stairs or a lift. There were 61 people living at Great Oaks at the time of inspection.

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

Developments and changes to the leadership of the home had strengthened oversight. This meant the service was safe. Improvements had been made in various areas of the home but specifically with auditing, monitoring, provider oversight and recruitment processes. Since our last inspection the home had improved in areas such as, infection prevention and control, medicines management, staff morale and team working. The registered manager continued to work with the service and external health and social care professionals on communication channels.

Improvements to the assessment of mental capacity meant people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

At our last inspection we made a recommendation about recruitment procedures. There had been enough improvement and recruitment practices were safe. There were enough staff on duty and recruitment was ongoing.

People told us they were happy living at Great Oaks. Staff understood how to recognise and raise concerns. There was confidence in the management of the home to follow up concerns and make the necessary referrals to keep people safe. People had risk assessments in place for all their care and support needs. Utilities and equipment safety checks were in place to ensure people lived in a safe environment, this included robust fire safety procedures. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed to identify trends and themes with a view to preventing reoccurrence.

People had access to medical services as needed and the home worked with external professionals. People and their relatives were involved and felt able to raise their concerns if needed. People’s needs and abilities were assessed before they moved into the home to ensure staff could meet them.

Staff felt supported and the management teams focus was to continually improve staff morale and team working. Staff were proud to work at Great Oaks and improvements to the home overall were clear during this inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 4 July 2022) and there was a breach of regulation about the management oversight of the home. We also made a recommendation about the providers recruitment processes. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation and had acted on the recommendation made.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 9, 10 and 11 May 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the management oversight and governance processes.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Great Oaks on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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