Oakley House is registered to provide accommodation for up to eight people who require personal care. The home provides a service for people who have a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were seven people living in the home.

At the last inspection on 18 June 2015 the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Systems were in place to manage risks to people living at the home and to keep them safe. This included assisting people safely with eating and drinking whilst out in the community.

There was sufficient numbers of staff on duty to safely assist and support people. The recruitment and selection procedure ensured that only suitable staff were recruited to work with people living at the home

The registered manager and staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to have choice and control over their lives as much as possible. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s needs were assessed, so that their care was planned and delivered in a consistent way. The management staff and care staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and knew their care needs well. Staff offered people choices and these were respected and actioned by staff.

People experienced a good quality of life because staff received training that gave them the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs. People were supported and assisted with their daily routines, shopping and accessing places of their choice in the community.

People received appropriate support to maintain a healthy diet and be able to choose meals they preferred. People had access to a range of health care professionals, when they needed them.

Staff were clear about the values of the service in relation to providing people with compassionate care in a dignified and respectful manner during our inspection.

The provider had processes in place to assess, monitor and improve the service. People had been consulted about how they wished their care to be delivered and their choices had been respected. People, their relatives and staff were provided with the opportunity to give their feedback about the quality of the service provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Oakley House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who have a learning disability. The home is not registered to provide nursing care. Accommodation is provided over two floors and there are eight single bedrooms. There were five people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

This inspection was undertaken on 18 June 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected Oakley House in December 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the essential standards that we assessed.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of this inspection. 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.

People had mental capacity assessments completed and information about their best interest decisions were well documented. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards guidance had been followed and completed applications sent to the appropriate agencies so that people were not deprived of their liberty unlawfully.

People’s health and care needs were assessed and reviewed so that staff knew how to care for and support people in the home. People had access to a wide variety of health professionals who were requested appropriately and who provided information to maintain people’s health and wellbeing. People received their medicines as prescribed.

The risk of abuse for people was reduced because staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. People were supported to be as safe as possible and risk assessments had been written to give staff the information they needed to reduce risks.

Staff received an induction and were supported in their roles through regular supervision, annual appraisals and training, to ensure they understood their roles and responsibilities.

People were involved in their choice of the meals to prepare, snacks and drinks, which they told us they enjoyed.

People were able to contact their friends and families and visitors were welcomed. Staff supported and encouraged people with the interests that they enjoyed.

People were able to raise any concerns or complaints with the staff and were confident that action would be taken. Independent advocates were available so that people could be provided with independent support.

People in the home were happy with the staff and management and were involved in meetings to improve Oakley House.

During this inspection we spoke with five people who used the service, one relative and four members of staff including the manager. People who used the service told us that were very happy with the care they received and that they felt safe. One person stated that: “I love it here and the staff are very nice”.

We found that staff were supervised and trained appropriately to carry out their role effectively. Medication storage and records were well maintained.

We found that consent had been recorded within people’s care plans and that people's care and support needs were well documented.

We found that people were given appropriate choices in food and drink. They were given support to prepare and serve the meals.

People were provided with information and given the opportunity to raise any concerns they had about their care and support.

We found Oakely House to be clean and well maintained. The communal lounge, dining room and kitchen were well arranged and made the most of the space available. Bedrooms were personalised and all had an en-suite facility.

People told us they liked living at Oakley House. One person said, "The best thing about being here is being independent". Another told us, "I like my friends here". We saw that activities were arranged and that people were supported to be independent. We also observed a good rapport between people who live there and staff.

Staff were mostly positive about working at Oakley House. One said, "I love working here". Another member of staff told us, "The team is close. We are well supported". We found that staff had not been appraised while the manager was on maternity leave; and the training matrix was not up to date.

People we spoke to were mostly positive about the care and support they received. We found that care plans were written in a person centred way and contained relevant information; action plans were in place to address the shortfalls in signing and dating information consistently.

People we spoke with were generally positive about the care and support they received from staff in the home. People were complimentary about the accommodation provided and were pleased that they were able to personalisde their bedrooms to meet their preferences.