Good Oaks Home Care - Abingdon and Didcot

Updated 18 April 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 carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

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

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the registration of the service. We used the information the provider previously sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 3 people using the service and 5 family members of people using the service. We also spoke with 9 members of staff, including 8 care workers and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. These included care records for 3 people, 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service. We looked at policies and procedures, and quality assurance records.

Updated 18 April 2023

About the service

Good Oaks Home Care - Abingdon and Didcot is a domiciliary care service providing personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people receiving personal care.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We found safe care and treatment was provided. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and other risks, including infection control risks in relation to COVID-19. Safe medicines administration practice was promoted. The registered manager took appropriate action in response to accidents, incidents and complaints to ensure people's safety. There were sufficient staff to meet people's care needs and safe recruitment processes were in place.

Staff were appropriately trained and supported in their roles and told us they felt valued and listened to. Staff worked with other health and social care professionals when required to ensure people's needs were met.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service promoted this practice.

People told us staff were caring, compassionate and provided safe care. Staff supported people to maintain their independence where possible and involved people in day-to-day decisions about their care and support.

People received person-centred care which was responsive to their needs. People's needs were assessed, and care plans provided a detailed and holistic picture of people's needs, wishes and preferred routines.

Staff, people and their relatives told us the service was well-managed. People indicated the management of the service was accessible, supportive and approachable. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 19 January 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to provide the service with a rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.