The Oaks

Updated 27 January 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by 1 inspector and a specialist advisor.

Service and service type

The 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. The Oaks is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This service is also a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own bungalows.

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 not 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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with managers, nurses, care workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We spoke with 7 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and 4 relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 27 January 2023

The Oaks is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 43 people. The service provided support to people living with dementia, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and care for people over the age of 65. At the time of our inspection, there were 37 people using the service.

The Oaks also provides a domiciliary care agency to people living in bungalows adjacent to the care home. Not everyone who used this service received personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

Recent changes within management had resulted in shortfalls to the quality of the service. The provider had sourced additional management support and created detailed action plans to drive forward the improvements needed.

Quality assurance systems in place had supported the provider to identify shortfalls in quality. The provider was open and honest regarding these shortfalls and had taken appropriate action to address these in a timely way.

People were happy with the service and told us they were supported by kind and caring staff. The service was clean and welcoming, and people were engaged within the local community.

Staff understood their roles and knew what was expected of them. Risks to people were assessed and reviewed on a regular basis. Medicines were managed safely. Staff were recruited safely and they understood the principles of keeping people 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.

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 25 April 2022).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to management oversight, safeguarding people and pressure area care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. The provider had identified shortfalls with documentation and safeguarding at the service and was taking appropriate action to address this.

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

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation regarding the documentation for the risk management of pressure area care for people.

Follow up

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