Oak Lodge Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

People using the service were receiving effective care and treatment.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff and the provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People and their relatives told us they were involved in planning and reviewing their care. Comments included, “Yes, lots of discussions”, and “Myself and all the family were involved.” Staff told us they spent time getting to know people, their needs, wishes and preferences to ensure their needs were appropriately met.

Staff had the information they needed to provide safe and effective care. Assessments and care plans were comprehensive, individualised, and contained details about people’s wishes, cultural needs and what was important to them.

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

People's nutrition, hydration, preferences, and cultural needs were met. People and their relatives told us they enjoyed the food and menus on offer. Comments from people using the service about the food included, “I enjoy the food. There are several of us from the Caribbean and sometimes the cook makes a Caribbean meal.”, “I really like the food” and “The food is lovely.”

The services cooks were knowledgeable about people’s nutritional, dietary and cultural needs and daily menus offered choice. The cooks showed us information about people’s individual dietary needs; this included details such as food texture and consistency and any food allergies. They told us the activities coordinator showed people a menu with pictorial food options each morning for them to choose from. They used a 4-week rolling seasonal menu that people were consulted on and following feedback from people they offered a cultural option every Wednesday.

We observed how people were supported at lunch time. The atmosphere in the dining room was relaxed, and staff were attentive to people’s needs. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. People were offered choices from set menus and were offered a wide range of drinks including tea, coffee and juices. There were enough staff to assist people, and we saw positive interactions between people and staff.

Staff worked effectively with health and social care professionals to ensure people received appropriate support when meeting their physical and mental health needs. These included a GP, district nurses, speech and language therapists and tissue viability nurses amongst others. A person using the service told us, “I see the chiropodist when I need them and any other people (health care professionals) too.” Another person said, “I see quite a few health care professionals, and it is always arranged for me.”

Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. People’s health needs were assessed and care plans documented how best people should be supported. The manager told us people had access visiting professionals such as chiropodists, opticians and dentists.

People told us they had access to health care professionals when they needed them. Comments included, “I have the chiropodist when I need her and any other people too”, “I see quite a few and it is always arranged for me”, and “yes, you have only to say, and it is done.”

A health care professional told us there was regular communication between the service and their practice. They had been impressed with the work the service had done to constantly review, improve to ensure patients were safe and settled in their home. There was clear leadership within the service and a collaborative and friendly environment amongst the staff team.

Staff routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Staff monitored people’s health and well-being and escalated any concerns to health and social care professionals. Daily records were maintained by staff to monitor people’s wellbeing and managers monitored care records to ensure care was provided appropriately and safely.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these. People told us staff were respectful and always sought their consent.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their daily lives. When people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions, staff met with relatives where appropriate to ensure any decisions made, were in the person’s best interests. Staff promoted people's rights and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA provides a legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The Act requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. The provider had requested legal authorisations where restrictions were in place. Any conditions in place were reviewed by staff and met.