The Oast

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.
At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good.
This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.
 

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.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment.
Peoples care plans were not always person centred and did not always document people’s unique needs and preferences. However staff did know people well and were able to describe how they provided personal care in a person centred way because they knew people well.
The service published a weekly activity planner displayed in both individuals’ rooms and communal areas, outlining activities and themed events scheduled throughout the week. We saw there were no activities planned or documented for weekends, leaving engagement to staff discretion. Staff said they had sufficient time to interact with people and provided examples of informal activities such as bingo and card games taking place during weekends. A relative told us “They like to play bingo and dominoes with the activity girl, there are people that come in and I’m glad they do join in.” We saw people engaged in different activities, such as bingo and singing with a musical band on our inspection. The registered manager and people told us they support people by having a therapy dog visit which people enjoyed.
 

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The registered manager told us and we saw, the service was supported daily by district nurses who provided daily clinical care for some people who needed it. People were supported to receive traditional and alternative therapies as well as more personalised support such as Reiki, Chiropody and Hairdressing. People who wanted it could also receive spiritual care.
 

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.
Activities, and themed days were planned and documented on a monthly planner which was placed in people’s rooms and communal areas. A person who was visibility impaired was provided a larger print activity planner. Daily dinner menus were printed in bright colours and showed images as well as written titles. On the day of the inspection staff had planned a Cockney meal which people we spoke to enjoyed and saw posters advertising the meals that had been planned for the day. A relative of a person told us “We have good communication they are very quick to alert me if she is unwell or needs anything. They have resident and family meetings and if I can’t attend, we get copies of the minutes we also receive a newsletter.”
 

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support.
Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. The service ensured regular people, relative and staff surveys and feedback was sought so they could identify concerns or good ideas to improve the service provided to people. This had resulted in the creation of a quiet space where people could read or meet visitors away from the main lounge.
 

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.
The service ensured that people could access health care through GPs and district nurses when they needed it. Staff ensured referrals were made and gave examples of where people had been supported which had resulted in significant positives changes which had increase mobility and their wellbeing. Staff were trained and were able to give examples of how they had supported people who were living with dementia.
 

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff knew people they cared for well and were able to provide person centred care based on awareness of how people liked to be supported and their individual physical and mental health needs. People told us ”The staff would know if I was unwell and would help me.” All staff were able to describe alternatives and different techniques to enable people to be supported if they were anxious or reluctant to do so but stressed this would always be with their consent.
 

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Care plans showed peoples wishes on how they wished to be supported with end-of-life care. We saw that people who required such support were treated with kindness and compassion and staff were trained on how to support people when their needs changed. We saw that families and people were very involved in decision making about how they wanted to live their lives ongoing.