Archived: Oaklands (Nottingham)

There was no registered manager at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they 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. The provider was actively recruiting for a new registered manager.

People felt safe living at Oaklands. People were protected from avoidable harm and abuse by staff who understood how to identify and report this. Staff were encouraged to raise concerns and were aware of who to speak with if they had any worries about anyone living at the home. Risks to individuals were managed and risk assessments in care plans were complete and up to date.

There were insufficient numbers of staff to meet people's care needs consistently and there were insufficient staff to support all people to follow interests when they wished. Medicines were managed safely and people received them in a timely manner.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to care for the people who lived in the home and training and induction for new staff was provided. Staff had an understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and people's consent was sought, on most occasions, before they were supported with their personal care needs.

People had enough to eat and drink and were supported to maintain a balanced diet. There was a sufficient and varied diet and nutritional needs were identified. Where necessary, extra support was provided to people ensure they had adequate nutrition. People were supported to maintain good health and access to health and social care professionals was available when they required this.

There were positive caring relationships in the home between the staff and the people they cared for. People were supported to express their views on some occasions, though this was not consistent. People's privacy and dignity was respected and maintained. There was a complaints process for people to use should they wish to do this.

There was no registered manager in post but there was a deputy manager who was well regarded by both the staff and people living in the home. Quality audits in the home were undertaken but the action points from those was audits were not always actioned.

During our inspection of Oaklands North we looked in detail at four people who live at the home's care. We also spoke with three people who live at the home to gain their opinion of the care that they had been receiving. One person told us: "It's got a lot better here, there's more to do, and now I'm living downstairs I get to go outside more." A second person said: "It's alright here, the staff are OK, they try to help, and I'm quite happy."

We reviewed a number of documents and records, and these showed that people were given the opportunity to comment, and asked for their consent. We also saw that the staff tried hard to ensure that people were safe.

A tour around much of the building and grounds (we only went into people's bedrooms if invited.) showed that the building was well maintained, and equipped. There were improvements to the environment through decoration and new fixtures and fittings.

We saw that there were strong recruitment procedures in place for new staff, and they were supported by a wide ranging training programme aimed at improving skills and knowledge.

We also saw that there were systems in place for monitoring what was happening within the building by the provider, and improvements were made as a result.