Oakfield at Yardley Hastings

Oakfield at Yardley Hastings is a residential care and supported living service providing personal care for people with learning disabilities and autism. At the time of inspection, there were three people receiving residential care and seven people using the supported living service.

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.

The service supports people in a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to ten people. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the building supports people requiring residential care in the same building as the people who receive the supported living service. The size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area. There were identifying signs and CCTV however these were discrete and helped to blend the building into the residential area and to minimise the identification of a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People enjoyed living at the home and were empowered to live a fulfilled life. The provider was extremely skilled and committed to forward planning and considering people’s future.

People received safe care, and staff understood safeguarding procedures and how to raise concerns. Risk assessments were in place to manage risks associated with people’s lives, and staff we spoke with felt safe supporting people with a wide range of needs.

Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out. Medicines were stored safely, and records showed that they were administered correctly.

Staffing support matched the level of assessed needs within the service and staff were trained to support people effectively.

People were supported to have their nutritional needs met. Healthcare needs were met, and people had access to health professionals as required. Care plans outlined any support people required to manage their healthcare needs.

People's consent was gained before any care was provided. Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them.

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.

Care plans reflected peoples’ likes, dislikes and preferences. People were empowered to make their own choices about what interests they pursued. This included holidays and activities with staff they enjoyed spending time with.

A complaints system was in place and used effectively. The registered manager was keen to ensure people received good care and support and listened to feedback when provided.

Investigations took place into accidents, incidents and any events that could be learnt from. Learning was shared with the team and improvements were made when required.

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.

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 9 June 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.

Oakfield at Yardley Hastings is registered to provide personal care in a supported living setting and accommodation and personal care for up to 10 people with learning disabilities, autistic spectrum disorder and physical disabilities. On the day of inspection, there were 4 people in receipt of personal care and support from the supported living service and 5 people in receipt of accommodation and personal care.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our 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.

Arrangements in place to ensure that staff had sufficient skills and knowledge to provide people with appropriate support required strengthening. Not all staff had been trained in mental capacity and some staff had not been provided with refresher training in key areas such as safeguarding. Staff received a thorough induction into the home and did not work with people on their own until they understood the care needs of each person.

People felt safe in the home and relatives said that they had confidence in the ability of staff to keep people safe. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from staff that were unsuitable to work at the service.

Care records contained individual risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They provided information to staff about actions to be taken to minimise any risks whilst allowing people to be as independent as possible.

Care plans were written in a person centred approach and detailed how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their care. People were supported to develop life and social skills and gain as much independence as possible, using individually created activity programmes. The support for this was provided by a staff group, who shared a strong person centred ethos.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed. Staff provided people with appropriate support to meet their nutritional needs and people were able to choose the food and drink they wanted.

People were fully involved in decisions about their care and support needs and this had a positive impact on their ability to be as independent as possible. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Staff provided people with information in the most appropriate way to enable them to make informed decisions and encouraged people to make their own choices.

Staff had good relationships with the people who lived at the service and people told us that staff were caring and respectful. Staff were aware of the importance of managing complaints promptly and in line with the provider’s policy. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to. There was a stable management team and effective systems in place to assess the quality of service provided.