Oldway Heights

Oldway Heights is a residential care home. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 43 younger adults and older people. The service supports people living with dementia, a mental illness, and/or a physical disability. The service does not provide nursing care. Nursing services are provided by the community nursing team. At the time of the inspection there were 36 people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People told us they were happy with the care they received and people said they felt safe living there. Comments from people included; “It is my first time in a care setting – it speaks volumes to say we all feel safe and we are able to see the managers at any point” and “We do feel safe and the food is good and we have choices.”

People looked happy and comfortable with staff supporting them. Staff were caring and spent time chatting with people as they moved around the service.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were supported by staff who completed an induction, training and were supervised. Staff were recruited safely in sufficient numbers to ensure people’s needs were met. There was time for people to have social interaction and there was a designated activities staff member to assist people. Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm.

Staff received appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely, including fire safety and mental health training.

The environment was safe, with upgrades ongoing and people had access to equipment where needed.

People were supported to access healthcare services, staff recognised changes in people's health, and sought professional advice appropriately.

Records of people's care were individualised and reflected each person’s needs and preferences. Risks were identified, and staff had guidance to help them support people to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. People’s communication needs were identified, and where they wanted, people had end of life wishes explored and recorded.

People were involved in menu planning and staff encouraged them to eat a well-balanced diet and make healthy eating choices. Special diets were catered for. One person said; “I’m on a pureed diet at the moment and they are dealing with that.”

People were supported by a service that was well managed. Records were accessible and up to date. The management and staff knew people well and worked together to help ensure people received a good service.

Staff told us the registered manager and the provider of the service were available and assist them daily. They went onto say how they were approachable and listened when any concerns or ideas were raised. One staff member said; “I could not wish for better management, I could not rate them because it would be off the scales for them.”

People and their families were provided with information about how to make a complaint and details of the complaint’s procedure were displayed at the service.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 September 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about communication, staff attitude to people in the service and lack of support to people who were distressed. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective, caring and well-led sections of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Oldway Heights is a residential care home. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 43 younger adults and older people. The service supports people living with dementia, a mental illness, and/or a physical disability. The service does not provide nursing care. Nursing services are provided by the community nursing team. At the time of the inspection there were 41 people living at the service.

The service is on two floors, with access to the upper floor via stairs or a shaft lift. Most bedrooms have ensuite facilities. There is an outside shared patio area.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and relative’s comments varied about the kindness and compassion of staff. Overall, people’s privacy and dignity was promoted. However, on occasions staff did not always promote a fully respectful culture.

The service supported people with a variety of different health and social care needs. However, it was not detailed in people’s care plans and from our observations how the promotion of independence was being adapted on an individual basis. For example, older people living with dementia compared to younger adults living with mental ill health.

Risks associated with people’s care were known, but not always documented to help ensure safe and consistent care was delivered. People’s medicines were managed safely.

People told us they felt safe living at the service and were supported by suitable numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. However, staff had not always received relevant training to be able to meet people’s needs safely and effectively. People’s views had been sought about any potential new staff, as they had been invited to be involved in the interview process.

People lived in a clean environment and were protected from the spread of infection. The environment had been assessed for safety. However, doors which should have been locked were found to be open, which left people with access to products that if consumed, could have been harmful.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. External professionals were complimentary of the service.

People told us the meals provided were nice. People had their health care met in a personalised way. External professionals were involved in people’s care as required.

Social opportunities existed, however during our inspection many people sat for long periods of time, without any stimulation. In addition, it was not detailed in people’s care plans or from our observations, how social care was being individually planned.

People told us the service was well managed. There was an inclusive culture whereby people and staff were involved in the development of the service. There were some monitoring checks in place, however these had not always been effective in identifying where improvements were needed.

We found three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We also recommended the provider continued to strengthen their overall governance framework taking account of national best practice guidance, and they reviewed the social engagement opportunities for people, to ensure they are tailored to people’s individual needs. In addition, we recommend the staff undertake training in relation to dignity, privacy and respect.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was Good (Published 08 August 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has altered its legal entity. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.