We carried out a review of the data available to us about Oakley House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Oakley House, you can give feedback on this service.
Oakley House is a residential care home providing personal care to seven people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder at the time of the inspection.
Oakley House can accommodate up to eight people in one adapted building over two floors.
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People showed and told us they were happy living at Oakley House, they felt safe and comfortable with the staff team. One person said, “I am so happy here, the staff are great. I couldn’t ask for a better place.”
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 service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
Staff were kind and caring and knew each person well. Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt the they received good support. There were enough staff to support people in the way they wanted. Staff received training, supervision, guidance and support so that they could do their job well. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged independence wherever possible.
The provider had systems in place to manage risks and keep people safe from avoidable harm. Staff followed good practice guidelines to prevent the spread of infection and gave people their medicines safely. People were supported to be as active as possible. The staff looked for ways to continually make improvements, worked well with external professionals and ensured that people were part of their local community.
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 30 September 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
At the last inspection on 18 June 2015 the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.
A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
Systems were in place to manage risks to people living at the home and to keep them safe. This included assisting people safely with eating and drinking whilst out in the community.
There was sufficient numbers of staff on duty to safely assist and support people. The recruitment and selection procedure ensured that only suitable staff were recruited to work with people living at the home
The registered manager and staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to have choice and control over their lives as much as possible. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People’s needs were assessed, so that their care was planned and delivered in a consistent way. The management staff and care staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and knew their care needs well. Staff offered people choices and these were respected and actioned by staff.
People experienced a good quality of life because staff received training that gave them the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People were supported and assisted with their daily routines, shopping and accessing places of their choice in the community.
People received appropriate support to maintain a healthy diet and be able to choose meals they preferred. People had access to a range of health care professionals, when they needed them.
Staff were clear about the values of the service in relation to providing people with compassionate care in a dignified and respectful manner during our inspection.
The provider had processes in place to assess, monitor and improve the service. People had been consulted about how they wished their care to be delivered and their choices had been respected. People, their relatives and staff were provided with the opportunity to give their feedback about the quality of the service provided.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
Oakley House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who have a learning disability. The home is not registered to provide nursing care. Accommodation is provided over two floors and there are eight single bedrooms. There were five people living at the home at the time of our inspection.
This inspection was undertaken on 18 June 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected Oakley House in December 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the essential standards that we assessed.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of this inspection. 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.
People had mental capacity assessments completed and information about their best interest decisions were well documented. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards guidance had been followed and completed applications sent to the appropriate agencies so that people were not deprived of their liberty unlawfully.
People’s health and care needs were assessed and reviewed so that staff knew how to care for and support people in the home. People had access to a wide variety of health professionals who were requested appropriately and who provided information to maintain people’s health and wellbeing. People received their medicines as prescribed.
The risk of abuse for people was reduced because staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. People were supported to be as safe as possible and risk assessments had been written to give staff the information they needed to reduce risks.
Staff received an induction and were supported in their roles through regular supervision, annual appraisals and training, to ensure they understood their roles and responsibilities.
People were involved in their choice of the meals to prepare, snacks and drinks, which they told us they enjoyed.
People were able to contact their friends and families and visitors were welcomed. Staff supported and encouraged people with the interests that they enjoyed.
People were able to raise any concerns or complaints with the staff and were confident that action would be taken. Independent advocates were available so that people could be provided with independent support.
People in the home were happy with the staff and management and were involved in meetings to improve Oakley House.
We found that staff were supervised and trained appropriately to carry out their role effectively. Medication storage and records were well maintained.
We found that consent had been recorded within people's care plans and that people's care and support needs were well documented.
We found that people were given appropriate choices in food and drink. They were given support to prepare and serve the meals.
People were provided with information and given the opportunity to raise any concerns they had about their care and support.
People told us they liked living at Oakley House. One person said, "The best thing about being here is being independent". Another told us, "I like my friends here". We saw that activities were arranged and that people were supported to be independent. We also observed a good rapport between people who live there and staff.
Staff were mostly positive about working at Oakley House. One said, "I love working here". Another member of staff told us, "The team is close. We are well supported". We found that staff had not been appraised while the manager was on maternity leave; and the training matrix was not up to date.
People we spoke to were mostly positive about the care and support they received. We found that care plans were written in a person centred way and contained relevant information; action plans were in place to address the shortfalls in signing and dating information consistently.