Archived: Oakwood Lodge

Updated 15 December 2016

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 was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 18 October 2016 and was announced. We gave the agency 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because it is a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be in the office.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. We looked at our own records to see if we had received any concerns or compliments about the service. We analysed information on statutory notifications we had received from the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

As part of the inspection we spoke with five people who used the service. We spoke with the registered manager and four support staff.

We looked at extracts from four people’s care and support plans. We also looked at a range of quality audits and two staff recruitment files.

Updated 15 December 2016

Oakwood Lodge provides personal care for people living in a purpose built complex where there are individual flats with shared facilities which includes a kitchen that provided meals to people who wish to purchase them, a dining room and lounge area. At the time of our inspection thirty seven people were receiving personal care services from the staff team who worked there.

The inspection of this service took place on 18 October 2016 and was announced.

There was a registered manager in post and they were present at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, registered managers 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 were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe and free from harm. Staff knew how to recognise and report any risks, problems or potential signs of abuse.

People lived independently with varying levels of support from the staff team. Staffing levels were determined based upon assessments of need and flexible support was also available if these needs changed. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s care needs. Staff were able to provide safe support because risks were assessed and plans were in place to reduce and manage risks where possible. Assessments were reviewed and care plans amended as people’s needs changed

People who required support to take their medicines were protected by safe systems for administering, storing and recording medicines. Training was in place to enable staff to safely support people when required.

People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide effective support. Staff received good training opportunities and training was developed to meet people’s individual needs and conditions. Staff were recruited through safe recruitment practices meaning that only people suitable to work in the role were appointed.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and worked well as a team to ensure people’s needs were met. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and staff understood how to protect people’s human rights. People were supported to make choices in relation to the care and support they received and staff respected people’s decisions to refuse or change their support to fit in with people’s plans or preferences.

Staff worked with healthcare professionals to promote people’s good health and monitored people when needed to identify that they were eating a diet that was suitable to meet their individual dietary needs. Meals prepared at Oakwood Lodge received mixed feedback in relation to quality and variety. The registered manager was in the process of reviewing arrangements.

People were supported by staff who were caring and kind. People felt relaxed with staff and had consistency of staff who knew them well. People were supported to be involved in their care. People told us they were supported to remain as independent as possible and staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff were aware that people could become socially isolated and so encouraged people to mix with others or take part in activities in order to reduce this risk.

People received a responsive service. They told us they received personal care and medicines on time and were informed if there were any unavoidable delays. People also told us that if they called for help they received prompt support. Staff told us that they had the flexibility to accommodate people’s changing plans and routines.

People told us they were able to raise concerns and felt these would be acted on by the registered manager. The provider had an effective procedure in place to manage complaints.

People told us that they were regularly asked if they were happy with the service provided. They were involved and consulted in the running of the service and felt that their views and ideas were listened to and acted upon. Systems and processes were regularly audited and outcomes were acted upon to improve the quality of the service. The registered manager was open to formal and informal feedback from people in order to continually improve the service provided.