Oak House

Updated 22 March 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.

Service and service type

Oak House 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. Hamilton House 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 and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the service. We contacted additional external professionals and invited them to share their feedback about the service. We received information from a social worker and a paid representative (independent advocate).

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, supporting manager, 3 senior support workers, 2 support workers and a domestic. We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people's care records and numerous medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. Plus, a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including the staff rota, training and supervision matrix, audits and checks on quality and safety, meeting records and policies and procedures.

Updated 22 March 2023

About the 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.