Oak Farm

Updated 20 January 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 two inspectors.

Service and service type

Oak Farm 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. Oak Farm is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people at the service to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 5 December 2022 and ended on 22 December 2022.We visited the service on 5 December 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it registered with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.

We contacted social care commissioners who help arrange and monitor the care of people living at Oak Farm. We also contacted Healthwatch Sheffield. 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 all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke to two people using the service. We spoke with seven members of staff which included, the nominated individual, a director, the registered manager, the home manager, the deputy home manager and two care staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

We spoke with three relatives and sought feedback from four visiting professionals about their experience of the care provided.

Updated 20 January 2023

About the service

Oak Farm is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with a learning disability and/or autism.The location offers individual and shared accommodation across four separate buildings each of which has separate adapted facilities. At the time of our inspection there were two people using the service.

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.

This provider was able to demonstrate they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Overall people were supported to have 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. We received mixed feedback from relatives about activities. Some families said there should be more frequent activities outside of Oak Farm. We have made a recommendation about the activities provided by the service.

Right Support:

People's religious, cultural and personal diversity was recognised by the service, with their care plans outlining their backgrounds and beliefs.

The provider had a process in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding and knew how to act on their concerns. The provider had a recruitment system in place to ensure appropriate staff were employed.

Risks associated with people’s care had been identified and assessments were in place to minimise risks occurring. The provider adopted least restrictive practices underpinned by a positive behaviour approach.

Quality audits were in place and completed regularly by the senior team. However, a medication audit had failed to note an error in transcription. The medication policy in place referred to more frequent assessments of staff competence than were taking place. We recommend the provider review their system for auditing medication and their medication policy to ensure they are in line with best practice guidance.

Right Care:

People received care and support from staff who knew them well and understood their needs and considered their preferences. Staff interacted positively with people and had a caring and respectful approach.

The provider made sure people got all the information they needed in an accessible format, to support them to make decisions about their care and support, including easy read, pictorial and translation of documents from English.

Relatives told us they would like to be more involved in some areas of their families care and for their relative to have more support with independence.

Right Culture:

Staff at all levels worked hard to promote a culture that was person-centred and inclusive. The vision and values of the home were understood by staff and translated into the delivery of care.

Staff told us should they have any concerns about poor practice they would feel confident to raise them and their concerns would be acted upon.

Staff supported people to explore and embrace their identity and provided care that was sensitive to equality and diversity.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 11 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about the service.

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.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation for the provider to review their system for medicines management audits and a recommendation abut the activities provided by the service.

Follow up

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