3 June 2016
During a routine inspection
Omega Oak Barn provides personal care for up to 28 older people. On the day of the inspection there were 23 people living in the home. The home is located in the village of Beadlam close to the market towns of Helmsley and Kirbymoorside. The home does not provide nursing care.
The home had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Staff were able to tell us what they would do to ensure people were safe and people told us they felt safe at the home. The home has sufficient suitable staff to care for people safely and they were safely recruited.
Staff had received training to ensure that people received care appropriate for their needs. Training was up to date in areas the registered provider considered mandatory, such as infection control, health and safety, food hygiene and medicine handling and also in specialist areas of health care appropriate for the people being cared for.
Staff had received up to date training in Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff understood that people should be consulted about their care and that they should assume that a person had capacity to make decisions. They understood what needed to happen to protect the best interests of people who did not have capacity to make certain decisions.
People’s nutrition and hydration needs were met. People enjoyed the meals and they were of a good quality. Clinical care needs were met in consultation with health care professionals.
People were treated with kindness and compassion. We saw staff had a good rapport with people whilst treating them with dignity. Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people’s needs and worked together well as a team. The atmosphere within the home was one of care and respect. Care plans provided detailed information about people’s individual needs and preferences. Records and observations provided evidence that people were supported to feel cared for and listened to.
People were supported to engage in daily activities they enjoyed and which were in line with their preferences and interests. Staff were responsive to people’s wishes and understood people’s personal histories and social networks so that they could support them in the way they preferred. Care plans were kept up to date when people's needs changed. People were encouraged to take part in their reviews and to give their views, which were acted upon.
People told us their complaints were responded to and the results of complaint investigations were clearly recorded. People we spoke with told us if they had concerns they were always addressed directly with the registered manager who responded quickly and with politeness.
The service was well managed. The registered manager ensured the quality of the service through a system of audits and checks. They sought feedback from people who lived at the home, relatives, visitors and professionals with an interest in the service and acted on this to improve the quality of care.