Archived: Oakhaven Care Home

Updated 15 February 2017

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Before our inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the home, including previous inspection reports and statutory notifications sent to us by the home. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

At the time of our inspection there were 17 people living at the service. During our visit we spoke with six people who used the service, four relatives, six members of staff which included the registered manager and regional manager. We observed how people were being cared for, and looked around areas of the home which included some people’s bedrooms and communal rooms. We spent time looking at documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the home. We looked at four people’s care plans.

The inspection was carried out on the first day by one adult social care inspector and an expert-by-experience who had experience of older people’s care services and dementia care. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. On the second day of the inspection one adult social care inspector attended.

Updated 15 February 2017

This was an unannounced inspection carried out on the 11 and 17 January 2017. At the last inspection in February 2014 we rated the home as requires improvement but found the provider met the regulations we looked at.

Oakhaven Care Home is a large detached property situated in Oakwood on the outskirts of Leeds. The service offers accommodation for up to 24 older people.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At this inspection we found some aspects of medicines management were not always safe or in line with the provider's policy. We could not be sure people had received their medicines as prescribed.

Overall we found there were enough staff to make sure people received appropriate care and support. However, there were times when people were not supervised which put their safety at risk. We have made a recommendation about this in the safe section of this report. Recruitment checks had been carried out on all staff to ensure they were suitable to work in a care setting with vulnerable people.

Staff knew how to keep people safe from the risk of harm and abuse; they had received relevant

safeguarding training and knew how to report issues of concern.

Our inspection of the building showed it was a safe environment in which to care for people. Equipment, such as hoists, bathing aids and pressure relieving mattresses were available in the home and these helped promote people's safety and comfort.

We found people's health care needs were met and relevant referrals to health professionals were made when needed.

People's nutritional needs were met. There were choices available on the menus and alternatives if people didn't like what was on offer. Nutritional risk was assessed and people’s weight was monitored.

CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). These safeguards aim to make sure people are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. We saw appropriate DoLS authorisations had been made for people the service had identified were likely to have their liberty deprived.

When people were assessed as lacking capacity, staff acted within the principles of the MCA and ensured important decisions were made within best interest decision making processes.

Staff had completed training to ensure the care and support provided to people was safe and effective to meet their needs.

People told us they were treated with kindness and compassion. Our observations of care and

support confirmed this. People told us they were happy with the care provided.

People's needs were assessed prior to admission and this was kept under review and updated when there was any significant change. People had detailed person centred care plans which provided staff with guidance in how to look after them.

A range of activities were offered for people to participate in and people told us they enjoyed these.

There were systems in place to ensure complaints and concerns were fully investigated. The registered manager had dealt appropriately with any complaints received.

A range of checks and audits were undertaken to ensure people's care and the environment of the home were safe and effective. These checks had failed to identify the issues we noted around the management of medicines. Improvements were required to some of these processes to ensure they were effective in identifying and responding efficiently to issues.

We found the registered manager was approachable and people who used the service and their relatives were listened to.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This related to the Safe care and treatment. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.