Oakwood Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service

Updated 23 March 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We received information of concern about infection control and prevention measures at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 25 February 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 23 March 2021

About the service:

Oakwood Acquired Brain Injury Service provides residential care for up to 13 people and is located in the Offerton area of Stockport, Greater Manchester. The home provided care and support for people who are recovering from an acquired brain injury. Independent living is promoted within the service, with people having access to cooking/laundry facilities in their bedrooms to develop their skills in this area.

Rating at last inspection:

Our last inspection of Oakwood Acquired Brain Injury Service was in November 2015. The overall rating at this inspection was Good, with no regulatory breaches identified.

People’s experience of using this service at this inspection:

We carried out this comprehensive inspection on 21 February 2019. At the time of the inspection there were 12 people living at the home. We found the service had retained its overall ‘Good’ rating. Due to this, the report is written in a shorter format because we found people continued to receive a good level of care and support since our last comprehensive inspection.

People said they felt safe living at the service, with staff demonstrating a good understanding about how to protect people from the risk of harm.

Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate checks carried out to ensure there were no risks presented to people using the service.

There were enough staff to care for people safely and we saw people’s needs being responded to in a timely way.

The premises were being well maintained, with relevant work carried out to ensure the building was safe for people to use.

Accidents and incidents were closely monitored, with regular trends analysis carried out to ensure any re-occurring themes could be identified in a timely way.

Peoples capacity was kept under review and deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) applications were submitted to the local authority as required.

Staff received the necessary training and support to help them in their roles. Staff supervisions were not always carried out as often as described in the policy and procedure, however the registered manager acknowledged this was something they were aware of and looking to address.

People told us they liked the food available, with some people able to prepare their own meals using the facilities in their own rooms.

People received enough to eat and drink and received appropriate support at meal times. Where people needed modified diets, due to having swallowing difficulties, these were being provided.

People living at the home and visiting relatives made positive comments about the care provided at the home. The feedback we received from people we spoke with was that staff were kind and caring towards people.

People said they felt they were treated with dignity and respect and that staff promoted their independence as required.

Complaints were handled appropriately. Compliments were also maintained about the quality of service provided.

There were a range of activities available for people to participate in, both in and out of the service. Trips out often took place for people to participate in if they wished.

We received positive feedback from everybody we spoke with about management and leadership within the home. Staff said they felt supported and could approach the home manager with any concerns they had about their work.

More information is in detailed findings below.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was carried out to check people who lived at Oakwood Acquired Brain Injury Service were still receiving a ‘Good’ level of care and support and to check that regulatory requirements were still being met.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the home to ensure good quality care is provided to people. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales for ‘Good’ rated services, however if any further information of concern is received, we may inspect sooner.