Oaklands

Updated 12 July 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Oaklands is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Oaklands is a care home with nursing care. 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

We gave the service a short notice of the inspection. This was to help staff support people with our visit and allow photographs of the inspection team to be publicised.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We contacted various health and social care professionals, including the local authority commissioners and safeguarding teams, Healthwatch, the local fire service, the local area infection control team, and the medicine optimisation team. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met every person using the service and either spoke to them directly or observed their interactions with staff. We communicated with the whole staff team, either face to face or via email. This included, the registered manager, the deputy manager, the providers positive behaviour support (PBS) lead, support staff, kitchen staff, administration staff and maintenance staff.

We spoke with 7 relatives to seek their feedback on the care and support provided to their loved ones. We spoke with an advocate working with the service. We contacted social workers, care managers, specialist nurse teams, the local authority service development manager, and the local GP.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records and every person’s medication records. We looked at 4 staff files in relation to recruitment, support, and training. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance and policies and procedures.

Updated 12 July 2023

About the service

Oaklands is a care home providing residential and nursing care for up to 15 adults with learning disabilities or other complex needs. At the time of the inspection there were 14 people living at the home.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

The model of care and setting maximised people's choice, control and independence 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. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. People were supported to take their medicines safely and in line with best practice.

Staff supported people to access specialist health and social care in the community when required. The home was clean and tidy and infection control procedures were monitored. Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance and direction to staff. These were reviewed regularly and updated to ensure they accurately reflected people's needs.

Right care:

People received care which was person centred and were treated with dignity and respect. One healthcare professional said, “This is a very person-centred needs led service.” Staff were trained to protect people from abuse or poor care and would have no hesitation to report any concerns.

There were enough safely recruited and skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff were well supported. Staff received training to support them to care for people in the way they wished.

Right culture:

The provider was constantly improving the service to ensure staff had the values and attitudes to maximise people's lives. People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care.

The service worked hard to instil a culture of care in which staff truly valued and promoted people’s individuality and protected their rights. We received a few negative comments regarding a senior staff member which the registered manager was made aware of to address. Communication had been identified as an area to continue to work on improving but the registered manager was aware of this.

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 requires improvement (published 13 January 2020).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to ensure improvements had been made since our last 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.

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 based on the findings of this inspection.

The last inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident involving the death of a person using the service. Following a review of the information submitted, no further regulatory activity was required by the CQC.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oaklands 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.