Oak Lodge Care Home

Updated 16 September 2024

Date of assessment 24 September to 10 October 2024.

Oak Lodge Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care and nursing care for up to 71 people. At the time of our assessment 65 people were living at the service. We undertook this risk based assessment following information of concern we received about this service in relation to medicines management, staffing, environmental risks, governance and leadership. We assessed a total of 5 quality statements across the safe and well-led key questions and have combined the scores for these areas with scores from the last inspection. At this assessment we found the provider was in breach of 1 regulation. The provider failed to ensure medicines were always safely managed in accordance with best guidance. Shortfalls identified included aspects of medicines storage, administration and a lack of robust person-centred medicines records. The provider used a staffing tool to support them to identify staffing levels, however we received mixed feedback from staff, people and relatives whether levels were always sufficient. The provider had appropriate systems in place to ensure that the environment was safe and appropriate to meet people’s needs. Overall, the provider had good governance systems in place, however some shortfalls were identified regarding the oversight of medicines. The provider was responsive to our feedback during this assessment and took some immediate remedial actions where we identified some shortfalls. Staff told us leaders were overall visible and they felt supported in their roles. Where we identified a breach of regulation, we have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

Updated 16 September 2024

We received mixed feedback from people and relatives about their experience of staffing levels. Some people we spoke with had no concerns and felt staff were accessible, however others commented that at times they felt the service was short staffed. On this assessment we made some observations that staff were not always easily to locate, however we did observe appropriate levels of staff were available to meet people’s needs in communal areas during busier periods such as mealtimes. We received positive feedback from relatives that their loved ones received good care and support from staff who knew them and their needs well. We spoke with people and their relatives about the environment and people told us they liked their home and staff ensured it was clean and tidy and a relative commented that leaders were responsive to maintenance requests. People we spoke with told us they received support from staff to administer their medicines as needed.