The Oaks

Updated 29 December 2018

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is 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.

Inspection team: The inspection was undertaken by two adult social care inspectors.

Service and service type:

The Oaks is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced which meant that they did not know we were coming.

What we did:

Prior to our inspection we looked at all of the information we held about the service. This included any safeguarding investigations, incidents and feedback about the service provided. We looked at any statutory notifications that the provider is required to send to us by law. We also looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted professionals who provided feedback about their experiences of the service. We used a planning tool to collate all this evidence and information prior to visiting the service.

We were unable to obtain feedback from people who used the service due to their limited ability to communicate with us. Therefore, to understand the experiences of people living at the service we undertook observations and interactions between people and staff. We spoke with two relatives of people living in the service. We also spoke with three staff members, the operations director and the registered manager who took overall responsibility for the service. We looked at a variety of records which included the care files for two people living in the service and three staff files. We also reviewed a number of records relating to the operation and monitoring of the service. These included, audits, servicing and checks. Along with feedback about the service, training records duty rotas and team meetings.

Updated 29 December 2018

About the service: The Oaks is a residential care home which accommodates up to six people in one adapted building for personal care. The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. At the time of the inspection six people were living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

Relatives told us they felt people living in the service were safe, staff knew how to deal with allegations of abuse. Medicines were managed safely; individual and environmental risks had been assessed to ensure they were managed to keep people safe.

Evidence was seen that confirmed relevant assessments and applications had been completed to ensure people were not deprived of their liberty unlawfully. People’s choices, likes and needs had been assessed and considered. Meals were provided in line with people’s assessed needs, likes and choice.

The privacy, dignity and respect of people’s needs were consistently maintained. It was clear people received good care and positive interactions were seen taking place. Care plans included information about how to support people’s needs, activities according to people’s likes and choices were provided to people.

No complaints had been received by the service. Positive feedback had been obtained. People were consistently positive about the leadership and management of the service. Systems were established that ensured the service was audited and monitored for people to live in safely.

Rating at last inspection: The last inspection was undertaken on 22 March 2016 where it was rated as good in all of the key questions and the rating was good overall. This inspection report was published on 21 June 2016.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous ratings.

Follow up: We will return to reinspect the service as per our inspection programme. We will continue to monitor any information we receive about the service and we will bring the inspection forward if we receive any concerning information.