We carried out a review of the data available to us about Oak House 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 Oak House, you can give feedback on this service.
Oak House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 11 adults with mental health support needs. At the time of our inspection, 11 people were living at the service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
There were not enough staff to support people at a weekend. Some people received additional funding to provide extra staff support. People told us they received staff support when needed. However, the staff rota showed there were not sufficient staff at a weekend to meet this need. It was also not clear from the staff allocation document, what staff had been assigned to support which named individual. The registered manager took immediate action in response to our staffing concerns.
Risks associated with people’s care and support needs had been assessed and planned for. A new electronic care record system had been introduced and action was ongoing, to ensure this was robust in providing staff with detailed guidance about how to mitigate known risks.
Staff had a positive and supportive approach with how known risks were managed. Health and safety checks of the environment and premises were regularly completed.
People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People felt safe living at Oak House. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their role and responsibility in keeping people safe.
People received their prescribed medicines safety and when they needed. Medicines were managed and stored safely.
The home was clean and hygienic. Staff had received training in infection prevention and control. Staff knew of the action required should there be an infection outbreak to keep people and themselves safe.
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.
The provider had systems and processes that assessed, monitored and mitigated safety and quality. The provider had a service improvement plan to support further development and improvements. The registered manager had good oversight and leadership.
People, relatives and staff received opportunities to share their experience of the service. People were positive about living at Oak House. Staff were equally positive and felt well trained and supported by the registered manager and management team.
There was a positive staff culture. Staff were kind, caring and compassionate. They had developed positive relationships with people and understood their care and support needs.
Staff understood and practiced the provider’s values. This included, promoting people’s independence and achieving positive outcomes.
The staff worked well with external health and social care professionals. Positive feedback was received about how well staff supported people and had a calm approach and created a friendly and homely environment.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 February 2020).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted in part due to concerns raised about staff deployment and people receiving their additional commissioned hours. Whilst we found some improvements were required, the registered manager took immediate action, and no person had experienced a negative impact.
This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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.
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 remained 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 Oak House 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.
Oak House is a residential care home for people with mental health support needs. The service can support up to 11 people. At the time of inspection, 9 people were living at the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received safe care form a staff team who understood safeguarding procedures and were confident in raising concerns should they need to. Staff told us that management took appropriate actions to safeguard people.
Risk assessments were in place to manage risks within people’s lives. Staff were confident in managing risks.
Safe recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out, and staffing support matched the level of assessed needs within the service during our inspection.
Medicines were stored and administered safely, staff were trained to support people effectively and were supervised well and felt confident in their roles. People were able to choose the food and drink they wanted, and staff encouraged healthy options. Cultural requirements with food and drink were understood and respected by staff.
Healthcare needs were met, and people had regular access to health and social care professionals as required.
Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them. Care was personalised to each individual, and staff were passionate about supporting people to achieve independence where they could, and live full lives.
Care plans reflected people likes, dislikes and preferences. People were involved in activities that were tailored to them.
People and their family were involved in their own care planning as much as was possible. A complaints system was in place and was used effectively.
The management team was open and honest, and worked in partnership with outside agencies to improve people’s support when required.
The service had a registered manager in place, and staff felt well supported by them and the wider management team.
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 support this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This service was registered with us on 20 February 2019 and this is the first inspection.
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.