Oaklands

Updated 11 June 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection began on the 22 May 2019 and was unannounced. It continued the 23 May 2019 and was announced. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Oaklands is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.’

What we did:

Before the inspection we looked at notifications we had received about the service. A notification is the means by which providers tell us important information that affects the running of the service and the care people receive. We also spoke with local commissioners to gather their experiences of the service.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return prior to our inspection. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually 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 our inspection we spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives. We spoke with the operations manager, registered manager, deputy manager, one nurse, two care workers, activities co-ordinator and the chef. We reviewed five people’s care files and discussed with them and care workers their accuracy. We checked three staff files, care records and medication records, management audits, meeting records and the complaints log. We walked around the building observing the safety and suitability of the environment and observed staff practice.

Updated 11 June 2019

About the service: Oaklands is residential care home that was providing personal care and nursing to 20 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their families described the care as safe. Staff had completed training in how to recognise and act upon any concerns of suspected abuse. People had their risks assessed and understood by the staff team. Actions had been put in place which were effective in minimising the risk of avoidable harm and regularly reviewed with people and their families. People were protected from preventable infections as staff had completed infection control training and followed best practice procedures. Medicines were administered safely and staff understood the actions needed if an error occurred. Where people received medicines ‘as and when’ necessary more detail was required to guide staff and ensure appropriate and consistent administration. The registered manager agreed this was required and began the review of ‘as and when’ medicine guidance on the second day of our inspection. Accident and incidents were recorded and reviewed by the management team. These were used as an opportunity to review people’s care and reflect on practice.

Staffing levels were flexible in meeting people’s changing needs. Staff had been recruited safely and checks had ensured staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff received an induction and ongoing training and supervision that enabled them to carry out their roles effectively. Training included mandatory subjects and areas specific to the people living at Oaklands such as wound management and diabetes.

People and their families were involved in pre-admission assessments which gathered information about a person’s care needs and choices. This information had been used to create person centred care plans that were understood by the care team and regularly reviewed to reflect people’s changing needs including communication, eating and drinking and end of life care. Staff respected people’s lifestyle choices and supported them with their cultural and spiritual beliefs. Working with other health professionals such as tissue viability nurses and speech and language therapists had enabled effective care for people. When needed, people had access to healthcare for both planned and emergency events.

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 practice.

Interactions between people, their families and the staff team were relaxed and friendly. Staff were consistently described as caring and kind and really making a positive difference to people’s day to day lives. Staff understood people’s communication skills and this enabled them to effectively involve them in decisions about their care. We observed staff respecting people’s dignity, privacy and independence.

People, their families and the staff team spoke positively about the management of the home describing the management as visible, hands on and helpful. The culture was open and honest which enabled people, their families and the staff to share ideas, complaints and concerns and feedback. Audits and quality assurance processes were effective in identifying areas for service improvement and delivering change.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated ‘Good’ at our last inspection carried out on the 25 October 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on 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.