Care service description

Oakcroft provides accommodation and personal care to four people who have a learning disability. People who live at Oakcroft may experience behaviours that challenge staff. At the time of this inspection there were four people living at the service.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection, the service was rated good.

Rating at this inspection

At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Why the service is rated good.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Staff identified, assessed and took relevant actions to manage potential risks to people. Processes were in place to ensure staffs’ suitability for their role. People experienced continuity in the staff who provided their care. Medicines were managed safely within the service.

People were cared for by staff who were appropriately supported in their role. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to eat a range of nutritious and healthy foods. Staff ensured people were supported to access healthcare services as required.

People were cared for by kind and caring staff who involved them in making decisions about their care. Staff understood how to uphold people’s privacy and dignity during the provision of their care.

People’s care needs had been assessed and they had individualised care plans which reflected their preferences about how they wanted their care provided. These were regularly reviewed and updated as required to ensure they remained relevant for people.

Staff supported people to participate in a range of home and community based activities to ensure their needs for social stimulation were met.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 service was well-led. Staff demonstrated the provider’s values in their work with people. Processes were in place to enable the provider to monitor and improve the quality of the service people received.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The inspection took place on 15 and 16 September 2015 and was unannounced. Oakcroft is registered to provide accommodation and support for up to four people with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were four people living there.

The service had a registered manager. 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 registered manager who commenced their role in July 2015 had taken prompt action to recruit five new staff, four of whom had started work within the last couple of weeks. The service was fully staffed. They understood that some of the new staff appointed had not previously worked in social care and had taken measures to ensure they worked alongside more experienced staff to support them in their role, provide continuity for people and to ensure people’s safety.

Risks to people both within the service and the community had been identified and managed safely. Learning had taken place following incidents in order to minimise the risk of reoccurrence for people.

A person required staff to administer their emergency epilepsy medicine on occasions. The registered manager had made arrangements to ensure new staff underwent this training as a matter of priority, to ensure there were always trained staff rostered to administer this medicine. In the interim they had made contingency plans and liaised with the person’s GP for guidance to ensure this person’s safety. Only appropriately trained staff administered people’s medicines, in accordance with the provider’s guidance, to ensure people’s medicines were managed safely.

People were relaxed in the company of staff. Long-term staff had received relevant training on how to safeguard people and understood their roles and responsibilities. The newly recruited staff were about to undertake this training and in the interim were supported by more experienced staff to keep people safe from the risk of abuse.

Staff had received an induction into their role and ongoing supervision and support. In addition to the provider’s required training. The registered manager had identified and arranged for staff to undergo additional training to enable them to meet the individual needs of the people they cared for effectively.

People were supported to make their own decisions if possible. Where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions staff were guided by the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The provider was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which apply to care homes. Applications had been submitted for people who lived at the service to ensure any restrictions on their movements were legally authorised.

People were involved in the weekly menu planning. People were offered a varied and balanced diet. Staff supported people to make healthier food choices. People were weighed monthly to monitor their weight. People were supported to eat and drink plenty to ensure their welfare.

People’s healthcare needs had been identified and they were supported to access a range of health care services. People had been referred to external health care specialists as required. They had also been referred to the provider’s behavioural therapist. People received support from staff to ensure they maintained good health.

Staff were kind and caring towards people, they were concerned about their welfare. Staff interacted with people constantly and provided them with reassurance where required. Staff had lunch with people and chatted with them as they ate, which was a positive experience for people.

People were supported to make choices about their own lives and in relation to decisions which would impact upon everyone, such as the planned refurbishment of the service. People’s choices were respected by staff.

Staff spoke to people politely and ensured they upheld their rights to be treated with dignity and respect. People’s independence was supported by staff. People were enabled to have regular contact with their families.

People were involved in planning their care where possible. They were involved in making decisions about how they wanted to spend their time and what activities they wanted to participate in. People were supported to join in activities in both within the service and within the community. Staff understood people’s individual care needs and were responsive to people. Annual service reviews had taken place for two people and arrangements had been made for reviews of the other two people’s care.

The provider had processes in place to enable people to raise any concerns. People had a copy of the complaints process in an appropriate format. Staff met with people regularly which gave them the opportunity to raise any issues.

The provider had aims and objectives in relation to the support people should expect to receive. The registered manager had been undertaking work with the whole staff team as a number of staff were new to the service, to ensure they understood the provider’s values. People were supported by staff who were encouraged to speak up if they had concerns.

The registered manager had identified the key issues for the service and taken action to address them. They understood the need to ensure all staff felt consulted and included in the changes they were making. People and their relatives felt able to speak with the registered manager. Staff felt supported by management to deliver people’s care.

The provider had quality assurance systems in place which were used to regularly monitor the quality of the service people received. The registered manager had used these processes to make improvements to the service.