24 and 26 Novemeber 2015
During a routine inspection
We carried out an unannounced inspection on 24 and 26 November 2015. High oaks, is a six bedded residential care home for adults with learning disabilities, autism and poor mobility. The home is registered for six people. At the time of our inspection, there were four people living at the home.
The service had an ‘acting manager’ who told us the provider was in the process of registering another manager with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The person was already employed by Walsingham and was going to be managing this service once the registered manager’s application had been completed. 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.
People’s needs had been assessed and care plans included detailed information relating to their individual needs. Care plans were personalised and demonstrated people’s preferences, and choices. People’s care and support packages were amended as necessary to meet their changing needs.
People who used the service felt they were treated in a caring way and with kindness. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff and each other. People were supported to maintain their health and wellbeing.There were systems in place to protect people from the risk of possible harm. There were risk assessments in place to provide guidance to staff on how risks could be managed and minimised where possible. People who used the service felt confident to raise any concerns and were assured that they would be managed appropriately.
People told us that they felt safe when receiving support from staff. Staff were knowledgeable in recognising signs of potential abuse and understood the relevant reporting procedures. Assessments were completed to assess any risks to people and to the staff who supported them.
There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s individual support and care needs at all times, including at weekends and during the night. People were supported to take their medicines.
The provider had effective recruitment processes in place to ensure that staff employed to work for the service were fit and proper for their roles and were of good character. Staff had the skills and knowledgeable about how to support people in line with their agreed care plans. Staff received regular supervision and support, and were clear about their roles and responsibilities.
The CQC is required to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are put in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves or others. At the time of the inspection we found that where people lacked capacity to make their own decisions, consent had been obtained in line with the MCA 2005. The manager had submitted one DoLS application to the local authority for a person who was being deprived of their liberty in order to keep them safe.
The provider had a policy and process for dealing with complaints and concerns. There were some quality monitoring processes in place and these were being developed by the manager. People’s views had been sought regarding the quality of the service.