Background to this inspection
Updated
23 December 2020
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. This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notices in relation to Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment), Regulation 17 (Good governance) and Regulation 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
As part of this inspection we also looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the services preparedness in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
This inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Oakleigh Lodge Residential Home 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We needed to know about the provider’s infection control procedures to make sure we worked in line with their guidance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we needed to limit the time we spent at the service.
What we did before the inspection
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
We reviewed information we had received about the service since this last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We also reviewed training data sent by the registered manager before the site visit. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with one person living at the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the provider, registered manager, and a care worker. We spent a short time at the home and had the opportunity to observe interactions between staff and the people using the service.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service, including accident and incident records.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and further policy records. We also reviewed the services specific COVID-19 plan.
Updated
23 December 2020
About the service
Oakleigh Lodge Residential Home is a residential 'care home' for up to 15 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 10 people living in the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
At the last inspection in February 2020, we identified a number of breaches of regulations. These were in relation to Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), Regulation 17 (Good Governance) and Regulation 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made. The provider, registered manager and staff worked hard to ensure the appropriate actions have been taken to provide good and safe practice. These improvements will need further time to be fully introduced and embedded into every day practice.
Since the previous inspection, the COVID-19 pandemic had begun. The service had an appropriate and up to date infection prevention and control policy in place to help keep people safe. This included increased cleaning and ensured adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) were available. Staff completed additional training in relation to COVID-19.
People were protected from the risks of harm, abuse or discrimination because staff had received appropriate training and knew what actions to take if they identified concerns. Staffing levels had been increased and there were enough staff working to provide the support people needed. Risk assessments provided some guidance for staff about individual and environmental risks. People received their medicines safely in line with their wishes. People felt safe living at Oakleigh Lodge. One person told us, “I’m very happy here, I’m perfectly safe and well cared for.”
Quality assurance systems had been developed and improved. This included audits of medicines, care plans, and health and safety. Both the registered manager and the provider had oversight of these processes to ensure issues were identified and acted upon in order to drive improvement in the service.
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 22 April 2020). There were breaches of regulations. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 17 February 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found and three Warning Notices were served in relation to Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment), Regulation 17 (Good governance) and Regulation 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
We undertook this focused inspection to confirm the provider now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this focused inspection and remains requires improvement.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oakleigh Lodge Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.