29 September 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Queens Oak Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 89 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 67 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were treated with kindness and care by staff. People knew how to complain and felt they were listened to, however we found examples of where issues had not been promptly addressed by the service. The service engaged with people and their family members considering their equality characteristics and kept people informed of changes to the service.
Some key areas of safety were not always effectively managed. Risks to people were assessed but sometimes risk management plans were not followed. We found examples of skin integrity issues not being fully addressed. Medicines were not always managed safely at the home.
The service had a new manager who recognised where improvements were needed. Quality and audit systems were in place but did not always fully identify areas which were not working well. People were safeguarded from abuse and improper treatment and there were suitable measures to protect people from infection risks, including those from Covid-19.
Staff spoke of being well supported by managers and were able to develop their skills. Staff were recruited in line with safer recruitment measures and the service had worked to recruit care workers and nurses from overseas and support them to obtain appropriate qualifications.
People were supported to have maximum 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.
For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was good (published 30 December 2020).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management of medicines. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
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 good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Queens Oak Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
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.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.
We have found breaches in relation to safe care and treatment at this inspection.
Follow up
Following our inspection the provider informed us of their intention to close the service. We will request an action plan and meet with the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety in the meantime. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service.