We carried out a review of the data available to us about Oakfield House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Oakfield House, you can give feedback on this service.
Oakfield House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 30 older people who may be living with dementia, in one large adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were happy living at the service and felt safe. Potential risks to people’s health and welfare had been assessed and there was guidance in place for staff to mitigate the risks. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and analysed to identify any patterns and trends, action had been taken to reduce the risk of them happening again.
Staff were recruited safely, the required checks had been completed to keep people safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had received training appropriate to their role and their competency had been checked.
Medicines were managed safely. Staff monitored people’s health and referred them to health professionals when their needs changed. People were supported to eat a balanced diet and given a choice of meals.
The management team completed regular checks and audits on all areas of the service. Action was taken when shortfalls were found. People and staff were asked their opinion of the service and suggestions made had been acted upon.
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 protected from discrimination and abuse. Staff knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and the registered manager understood their responsibility to report any concerns to the local authority.
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 requires improvement (published 20 February 2020). 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
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 3 and 4 February 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve governance and staff recruitment.
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.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Oakfield House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Oakfield House is a residential care home providing personal care to 26 older people, who may be living with dementia, at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 30 people in one large adapted building.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were happy and safe living at the service. They told us they were supported in the way they preferred and treated with respect and kindness.
Staff recruitment had not always been managed safely, some staff did not have the required checks. People received their medicines as prescribed, but records were not always accurate. There was a training programme in place to refresh staff knowledge. There was not a training system in place to support new staff, after their induction. Checks and audits had been completed but these had not been effective in identifying the shortfalls found at this inspection.
Potential risks to people’s health, safety and welfare had been assessed. There was guidance in place to mitigate risks. Accidents and incidents had been recorded, analysed to identify patterns and trends. Action had been taken to reduce the risk of them happening again.
People met with the registered manager before moving into the service to check staff could meet their needs. People’s needs had not been assessed using recognised tools following national guidance. Care plans contained details about people’s choices and preferences. People were involved as much as possible in developing the plans and their end of life wishes had been recorded.
People and relatives told us there were enough staff to meet their needs. Staff monitored people’s health and referred them to health professionals when their needs changed. Staff followed the guidance given by professionals to keep people as healthy as possible. People were supported to eat a balanced diet. People had access to activities they enjoyed.
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 to express their views on the service. Complaints had been recorded and investigated following the provider’s policy. People were given information in the ways they could understand. The registered manager attended local forums to keep up to date and to improve the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 01/03/2019 and this is the first inspection.
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 12 March 2019). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. 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 registration date of the service.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.