The inspection took place on the 29 April 2015 and was unannounced.
Oak House & Maple Lodge provides accommodation and support for adults who have experienced mental ill health. The service undertakes a recovery programme for people who have had mental ill health and support with improving their independence skills and recovery from the illness. The service began in April 2013 and can accommodate up to 14 people.
The service has two properties. One being Oak House which is the main house where people live and Maple Lodge a self contained property at the back of the main house. This is used for people when they are ready to become independent and move on from the service into the community.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
Staff felt fully supported by management to undertake their roles. Staff were not always given regular training updates and recorded supervisions. This meant staff had not been offered the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills and have recorded supervision with their manager. Staff had recently been offered to undertake a qualification in health and social care as part of on going support and development.
The experience of people was positive. People told us they felt safe living at the service and staff were kind. Staff supported people to live independently and helped people with living skills and self-care. We observed staff throughout the day who showed a great understanding about the people’s needs. They were encouraged and supported in daily activities such as going out and cooking their own food.
People’s needs were assessed and support plans were developed to identify what care and support they required. Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to obtain specialist advice in mental ill health to ensure people received the care and treatment they needed. People were supported to live independently by staff encouraging them to take responsibility for daily living including cooking, washing and accessing the community.
Staff told us how they worked together with people to support them and make sure they received the support they needed. Staff interactions were positive, staff spoke with people respectfully and gave them meaningful choices.
People’s needs were assessed and personalised, support plans were developed to identify what care and support they required. People were consulted about their support to ensure wishes and preferences were met.
A recovery approach was used so that people were encouraged to take part in activities in the community and take responsibility for their own mental health and wellbeing.
Resident and staff meetings regularly took place which provided an opportunity for staff and people to feedback on the quality of the service. Staff and people told us they liked regular meetings. Feedback was sought on a daily basis. The home had nine people using the service and this meant they could talk to the staff throughout the day and raise any concerns if needed.
Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines when they needed them. Any risks associated with medicines were assessed and managed in people’s best interests.
The registered manager considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. Staff observed the key principles in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded.
The registered manager made sure there were enough staff on duty at all times to meet people’s needs. Appropriate checks were carried out before new staff started working at the service.
People were aware of how to make a complaint and felt they would have no problem raising any issues. The manager responded to complaints in a timely manner with details of any action taken.