Oak Farm

Updated 13 December 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

One inspector completed a site visit on 18 October 2022. An additional inspector supported to complete phone calls to relatives of people using the service.

Service and service type

Oak Farm is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a

single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided,

and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 18 October 2022 and ended on 27 October 2022. We visited the service on 18 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider 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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and health and social care professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent to us on a monthly basis, as a result of conditions imposed following the previous inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We also spoke to three people using the service and three family members of people living at the service.

We spoke with nine staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and care staff. We reviewed six peoples care records, five medicine administration records (MAR) and two staff records. We also reviewed other records, including policies and procedures, relating to the safety and quality of the service.

Updated 13 December 2022

About the service

Oak Farm is nursing home providing rehabilitation to people living with brain injuries. The home can accommodate up to 32 people and at the time of the inspection was supporting 24 people. The service comprises of a main building which can accommodate up to 28 people and a smaller unit supporting four people. The service has a communal gym and gardens for people to access.

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

At our previous inspection we had highlighted concerns with record keeping and overall governance of the service. At this inspection we had found these areas had improved. People and their relatives were positive about changes that had been made.

People’s medicines were stored and administered safely. People received their medicines on time and as prescribed by healthcare professionals.

Care plans had been improved since our last inspection and were detailed about what people were able to do for themselves to promote their own independence.

Staff spoke about people in a caring way and were observed to be supporting people respectfully.

Staff were responsive to people and offered them timely support. People felt staff supported them well and were always available.

External healthcare professionals were contacted when required for the needs of people. Ensuring people received responsive input when needed.

Regular staff meetings and handovers were taking place to ensure peoples wellbeing was closely monitored and action taken when needed to keep them safe.

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.

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

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 23 December 2021) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Exiting special measures

This service has been in Special Measures since January 2020. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 19 October 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the safe care and treatment of people as well as good governance of the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-Led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oak Farm on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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