About the service Oak View is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to four people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection, four people were living there. Accommodation was 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 and what we found
Although there were good quality and governance systems, they had not identified areas in relation to record keeping in a number of areas that needed to improve. Immediately following the inspection, the registered manager sent us information about the improvements they would make. They had also called a staff meeting to ensure all staff were clear about the changes needed.
People were protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff knew what actions to take if they identified concerns. The home was clean and tidy throughout. Staff had received training in infection control and the home had a visiting procedure that was thorough to ensure as far as possible people’s safety from COVID-19.
There were enough staff working to provide the support people needed. Recruitment procedures ensured only suitable staff worked at the service. There were safe procedures to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed. Relatives and professionals spoke positively of the care provided by staff.
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.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support:
¿ Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and independence.
People were encouraged to make choices in all aspects of their lives, from what they wore to what they ate and how they spent their day. Staff knew people well and understood how people made their needs known. They could pick up on subtle clues that indicated people might not be happy or might be in pain and care was planned accordingly. Each person had goals they were working towards achieving. People were supported to go out regularly and to do activities they enjoyed. Bedrooms had recently been or were in the process of being decorated and everyone had been involved in choosing colour schemes and fittings for their rooms.
Right care:
¿ Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights.
We observed that staff were very caring in their approach and people were very content in their surroundings. Staff respected people’s dignity and immediately following mealtimes, people were provided with personal care and if needed a change of clothes to freshen up. We saw that staff responded immediately if people wanted to move to an alternative area of the house.
Right culture:
¿ Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives.
There was a very positive culture at Oak View. Staff felt supported by the registered manager. All the relatives told us they would have no hesitation in raising concerns if they had any and felt confident, they would be addressed. People were supported to take part in a wide range of activities and throughout the pandemic the staff team had been creative and imaginative in providing additional activities when regular routines had to stop due to shielding.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This service was registered with us on 25 September 2020 and this is the first inspection. The service was previously registered with CQC and was part of a merger. The last rating for the service under the previous provider Aitch Care Homes (London) Limited, was good (published 13 June 2019).
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.