Archived: Oaklands Grange

Oaklands Grange provides support to people with mental health needs. The home was in a detached well-maintained building with well-kept gardens on a residential street in Wallasey, Wirral.

Oaklands Grange accommodates 10 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection there were nine people in the home.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Everyone we spoke with said they felt safe living at the home. Risk assessments were in place and described the course of action staff were to take to help keep people safe. Medication was well managed and stored safely. Staff adhered to infection control processes. Staff recruitment remained safe.

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. Staff were inducted, trained and supervised. People said they felt sometimes the food needed to be more varied.

Everyone told us the staff were kind and caring. People said their independence and privacy was up held by the staff. Care plans were signed by people, and people confirmed they had been involved in completing their care plans.

The registered manager had implemented new person-centred care plans which contained information about people’s support needs, their medical diagnosis, and their routines. There was a complaints procedure in place and everyone told us they knew who to raise concerns with. The staff had been trained in end of life care, and people’s last wishes had been discussed with them.

There was a registered manager in place and people spoke positively about them. The manager was aware of their roles and responsibilities. People had been engaged with and asked for their feedback, and there was good partnership working between the registered manager and the registered provider. Audits took place and action plans were developed and allocated.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good. (Report published 5 October 2016)

The home had a recently appointed manager in place who was not yet registered with the CQC. The manager had been in the role for three months since taking over from a previous long standing manager who had retired.

Most people had lived at the home for a long time and knew each other well. We saw that there was a pleasant friendly and relaxed atmosphere. It was not clinical but had a homely style, both in the décor and feel of the building and in the interactions between people living at the home and staff members.

People told us they were treated with dignity and respect and said that this contributed to a “family atmosphere”. People supported and the staff spoke of there being good relationships between people living at the home, the staff and the manager. We saw that building up relationships with people was very important to the manager.

People without exception gave praise to the staff and the support they received. They told us they felt safe, relaxed, listened to and comfortable living at the home. We saw that people had active lives in their community and came and went throughout the day as they chose.

People told us they were supported with their health needs. We saw documents that confirmed this was happening. The service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

People’s support plans didn’t always reflect their main support needs or the day to day support they received. Sometimes there was no guidance for staff, no background information, or clear rationale for the way support was offered to the person or the person’s consent to being supported in the way they were documented. There was detailed information about a person personal and medical history, their interests and hobbies and person centred documents recording what was important to a person.

The home had a safe environment with the relevant health and safety checks being completed. Staff received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults, medication administration and were assessed in administering medication. New staff had been recruited safely, with a criminal records check (DBS) being completed and they received a thorough induction into the role. There were risk assessments on people’s files which gave guidance for staff on how to mitigate risks and keep people safe.

Staff received support so they were equipped to carry out their role effectively. This support included appropriate training and training refreshers, supervision meetings with a manager, staff meetings and annual appraisals. Staff we spoke with told us they felt supported in their role and they felt comfortable going to seek advice from a manager as necessary.

People told us that the food provided was of good quality and they enjoyed it. There were alternatives available and people needs and preferences were catered for. People helped to plan upcoming menus The manager and staff had built up good relationships with people, which had a positive impact on their support. The manager contributed to a relaxed and friendly atmosphere at the home, he had an approachable manner and spent his time speaking to people who lived at the home.

The manager had ensured that the relevant health and safety checks had been completed at the home. He had a file of audits that he completed which ensured checks of people’s care and care plans, meetings, staff supervisions and appraisals and training were completed and up to date.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We reviewed three care plans. These were well presented, individualised and well organised. They all contained social history and risk assessments, for, example mental health and falls.

We saw evidence of staff monitoring weights on a regular basis and were told they informed the GP of any weight loss. We saw staff collated daily food and fluid charts on those who were losing weight.

When staff were asked they were all aware of what to do in emergency situations, where to find policies and procedures and knew who to contact.

We saw and were told by the service users that the environment was very 'homely' and clean.