Archived: Oak View

Updated 13 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 was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Oak View is a care home. People in a care home receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

Notice of inspection:

This was an unannounced, comprehensive inspection. The inspection was carried out on 30 April 2019.

What we did:

Due to technical problems, the provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, we referred to the previous (PIR) and the registered managers gave us an update on progress made since then. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included information from other agencies and statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

People were not able to tell us their views of life at Oak View, so we observed the support delivered in communal areas to get a view of care and support provided. This helped us understand the experience of people living at Oak View.

We spoke with the registered manager and three support workers. We met briefly with the regional manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records in full and aspects of other people’s records. We looked at recruitment records for two staff, medicine records, quality assurance records and training records for all staff. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service including audits and meeting minutes.

Following the inspection, we received feedback from four visiting professionals and we spoke with two relatives by telephone.

Updated 13 June 2019

About the service: Oak View is a residential care home for up to four people and there were four people using the service at the time of our inspection. People living at Oak view have profound and multiple learning disabilities. Accommodation was on ground floor only and the building had been specifically designed to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities.

People’s experience of using this service:

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support. People were supported to make choices in all areas of daily living from choosing clothes to wear to what they ate on a daily basis. Opportunities to use local facilities and amenities had increased and people had equipment that enabled them gain new skills to increase their independence in whatever way they could.

There were enough staff who had been appropriately recruited, to meet people’s needs. Staff had a good understanding of the risks associated with supporting people. They knew what actions to take to mitigate these risks and provide a safe environment for people to live. Staff understood what they needed to do to protect people from the risk of abuse. Incidents and accidents were well managed. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People’s needs were effectively met because staff attended regular training to update their knowledge and skills. Care staff attended regular supervision meetings and told us they were very well supported by the management of the home. People were encouraged to make decisions and choices. They 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.

People were treated with dignity and respect by kind and caring staff. Staff had a good understanding of the care and support needs of people and had developed positive relationships with them. People were supported to attend health appointments, such as the GP or dentist and attended appointments for specialist advice and support when needed. People had enough to eat and drink and menus were varied and well balanced.

Relatives commented on the improvements in the service over the past year. This was attributed to the reduction in the staff turnover and the manager growing in experience in the role. Professionals spoke positively of the staff and how they interacted with people and how they always acted on specialist advice and guidance.

Staff had a very good understanding of people as individuals, their needs and interests. Everyone needed support with communication and were not able to tell us their experiences; we observed that they were happy and relaxed with staff. People were supported to take part in activities to meet their individual needs and wishes. This included trips to the local parks, theatres, cafes and restaurants. Emphasis had also been placed on increasing opportunities for activities, so people had attended football matches, had enjoyed trips to London and arrangements were being made for one person to go to Disneyland Paris.

The environment was clean and well maintained. The provider had ensured safety checks had been carried out and all equipment had been serviced. Fire safety checks were all up to date.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated requires improvement. (The last inspection was published 1/05/2018).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will review the service in line with our methodology for 'Good' services.