Archived: Oak Bungalow

The last inspection of the service was carried out on 27 November 2013. No concerns were identified with the care being provided to people at that inspection.

Oak Bungalow provides short stay/respite placements to adults who have a learning disability. The service comprises of four separate buildings on the same site. Oak Bungalow can accommodate up to four people. Meadow View/Shanta provides flexible accommodation as it can be combined or can provide separate accommodation depending on the needs and mix of the people staying there. Meadow View/Shanta have a total of four bedrooms. There are also two single occupancy self- contained flats. The service is staffed 24 hours a day and the deployment of staff is based on the assessed needs of the people staying there.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At the time of our inspection we were able to meet with the five people who were using the service. The majority of the people we met with had complex learning disabilities and were not able to tell us about their experiences of life at the home. We therefore used our observations of care and our discussions with staff to help form our judgements.

Some areas of the service did not protect people from the risks associated with the control and spread of infection. The standard of décor in Oak Bungalow was poor.

People who were able, told us they felt safe. One person said “There is always a member of staff here day and night. That makes me feel really safe here and I don’t have to worry about anything.” People looked comfortable with the staff who supported them.

There was a good staff presence and staff were allocated to support people based on their skills, experience and preferences of the people using the service.

People saw health care professionals when they needed to. People’s health needs were monitored and staff implemented any recommendations made.

People needed staff to manage and administer their medicines. This was only carried out by staff that had been trained to do so. People received their medicines when they needed them and medicines were stored securely. However; we have recommended the provider reviews how medicines are administered to people who lived in buildings other than Oak Bungalow.

There were procedures in place to reduce risks to the people who lived at the home. Staff had received training and they knew how to recognise and report any signs of abuse. All were confident in reporting concerns and felt confident concerns would be taken seriously to make sure people were safe. Checks were made on prospective staff to make sure they were appropriate and safe to work with vulnerable people.

Staff knew how to make sure people’s legal and human rights were protected. They knew the procedures to follow where a person lacked the capacity to make certain decisions about their day to day lives or health care needs. This helped to ensure that decisions had been properly considered and agreed to be in the person’s best interests.

We found the service to be in breach of two of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We met with three people and spoke with or observed their interactions with staff which were friendly and professional. Most of the people had limited verbal communication skills but we were able to speak with a person who had been at the home for several months. They told us they were always asked for their agreement to any care or support provided. There were procedures in place to support people, wherever they had capacity to consent to their care, treatment and support needs.

The service ensured that people were safe and lived with people with compatible needs. Staff showed a good understanding of how to protect people's rights. We were told that the service never assumed a person did not have capacity to determine their own choices. We observed this throughout the day by interaction between people and staff.

We saw evidence of comprehensive, thorough risk assessments and care plans which were regularly reviewed. People received clear information about their medication and were supported to take medicines at the right times.

The provider had appropriate systems for evaluating the quality of the service.

People told us they knew who to speak with if anything was wrong. The manager had an open management approach and was confident that staff would report concerns.

The home was registered to accommodate 10 people. The accommodation was divided into three units. Oak bungalow and Meadow View each accommodate four people and there were two single occupancy flats. At the time of the inspection five people were living at the home. We met all of the people using the service and spoke to four members of staff.

We saw that some people made decisions about their day to day life and activities. Other people made choices within the home but were not able to leave without staff support. When people were not able to communicate easily about their care the service gathered information from previous care providers and the families of people coming to the home to ensure their care was individual and appropriate.

We observed the interactions between people and staff were friendly and professional. People who were able to express an opinion told us they were happy with the care they received. One person told us 'It is fine here. They all know me pretty well now.'

Staff were very positive about working in the home and the training and support they received.