We carried out an announced inspection of the service on 28 October 2016. Oaklands is registered to provide accommodation for up to six people who require nursing or personal care, some of whom may be living with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were four people living at the home.

On the day of our inspection there was a registered manager in place. 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 risk to people’s safety was reduced because staff had attended safeguarding adults training, could identify the different types of abuse, and knew the procedure for reporting concerns. Risk assessments had been completed in areas where people’s safety could be at risk. People had the freedom to live their lives as they wanted to. Staff were recruited in a safe way and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe.

Accidents and incidents were investigated. Assessments of the risks associated with the environment which people lived were carried out and people had personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) in place. Safe procedures for the management of people’s medicines were in place.

People were supported by staff who received an induction, were well trained and received regular assessments of their work. People felt staff understood how to support them effectively.

The registered manager ensured the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) had been applied when decisions had been made for people. The registered manager was aware of the requirements to apply for and implement Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards where required.

People were encouraged to lead a healthy and balanced lifestyle. This also included, where appropriate, people buying and cooking their own food. People’s day to day health needs were met by the staff and external professionals. Referrals to relevant health services were made where needed.

People had an excellent relationship with the staff. People were supported by staff who were very kind and caring and treated them with respect and dignity. People were encouraged to lead independent lives and care and support was tailored to enable people to do so. Innovative methods were used to communicate with people and there were individualised processes in place to help people understand and to contribute to, decisions about the care. There was a high emphasis on person centred care and staff were aware of the importance of encouraging people to lead their lives in the way they wanted.

People were provided with the information they needed if they wished to speak with an independent advocate, to support them with decisions about their care. People’s friends and relatives were able to visit whenever they wanted to and agreed processes were in place to support people with visiting their relatives.

People’s support records had a strong, person centred approach, where people were empowered to achieve their goals and ambitions. People’s care and support needs were regularly discussed with them and progress on achieving their goals was regularly discussed and reviewed. People were encouraged to take part in activities that were important to them and staff provided as much or as little support as people wanted. People were provided with the information they needed, in a format they could understand, if they wished to make a complaint.

People, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager; they found him approachable and supportive. The registered manager ensured all people received high quality and person centred care. The registered manager understood their responsibilities and ensured people, relatives and staff felt able to contribute to the development

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service, because some of the people who lived there had complex needs which meant they were not always able to tell us about their experiences. We spoke with one person living at the service who told us that they were happy living at the service. Their comments included “It’s alright. Nice people” and “They cook meals for me and take me down the shops”. We spoke with relatives about the staff at the service and one relative told us “They all care, that is genuine care and they know the service users very well”. A health professional who provides support to people living at the service told us the “Staff are lovely” and “It seems like a happy run home”.

We saw that the provider had systems in place to obtain consent from people in relation to people's care and support.

People received care that met their needs and promoted their rights. Advice and guidance was sought from health and social care professionals to be able to meet people's needs effectively and promote their welfare and safety.

Staff were supported to undertake their roles safely and effectively. They received relevant training, regular supervision and were encouraged to undertake further professional development. One staff member told us the manager was approachable and another staff member told us that “It is a small team but we do help each other”.

There was a system in place to manage compliments and complaints and complaints had been responded to appropriately.

We spoke with three people who lived at the home. They told us that they liked living at Oaklands and liked the staff that supported them. People said they enjoyed the activities they took part in at home and in the community and they could choose which activities to attend.

One person told us "The staff are ok " and that "Sometimes I go by myself to get a paper".

People told us they were happy with their rooms and had chosen colour schemes themselves. One person said "I chose the colours as soon as I walked in".

People said they made choices about their daily lives. For example, about what to eat and what to do each day and that they were involved in the running of the home. They said there were house meetings that they attended and they contributed to menu planning. A person told us "There is a menu meeting tomorrow ".

People were supported to be as independent as they could. They were consulted about how they preferred to be supported and what they wished to achieved. Each person had a personalised care plan and had been involved in preparing and reviewing the information in them.

People were supported to keep in contact with their relatives and with health and social care professionals. The service made sure that people attended routine medical appointments and took action if there were any concerns about a person's health.

People were asked for their views about the home and any concerns were acted upon.