Archived: Oak Mount Care Home

Updated 25 March 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 09 February 2016 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. In this case their area of expertise was alcohol and addiction dependency, homelessness and mental health.

Before the inspection we looked at the information we hold about the service which included notifications sent by the home. We usually ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) before an inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. On this occasion we did not ask for a PIR, however, we reviewed information on the provider’s website which included the Statement of Purpose and Service Description.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who used the service, one visitor, two support workers, the cook and the registered manager. We looked at four people’s care records, medication records, staff files and other records relating to the management of the home such as maintenance records. We looked around the communal areas of the home and some of the people who lived there invited us the look at their bedrooms.

Updated 25 March 2016

The inspection took place on 09 February 2016 and was unannounced. At the time of the inspection there were eight people living at the home.

There was a change in registration in November 2014 when the service moved to new purpose built premises. This was the first inspection since registration.

Oak Mount offers long-term residential care for men whose lives are severely affected by their chronic alcohol use problems.

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 living at the home told us they felt safe and secure. The registered manager and staff were aware of their responsibilities to protect people from harm and knew how to recognise and report abuse. The required checks were done before new staff started work and this helped to protect people from the risk of receiving care and support from people who were not suitable to work with vulnerable adults. There were enough staff deployed and staff were trained and supported to carry out their duties and meet people’s individual needs.

We found people’s medicines were not always given in a safe way.

The home was clean and well maintained. Risks to people’s safety and welfare were identified and measures put in place to reduce or remove the risk.

The home was working in accordance with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and people were not deprived of their liberty unlawfully. People were asked for consent before any care or support was delivered.

People were supported to have an adequate diet and their preferences were catered for. Mealtimes were flexible to take account of people’s preferred daily routines. People were supported to access the full range of NHS services.

People were treated with respect, dignity and compassion. People were supported to make choices about all aspects of their daily lives and empowered to be as independent as possible.

People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends and see their visitors in private.

People were involved in all aspects of assessing and planning their care; this started before people moved in and continued throughout their stay. People were given clear information about their rights and responsibilities and it was made clear from the outset that behaviour which put other people or staff at risk would not be accepted.

People who lived at the home were aware of how to make complaints and we saw complaints were taken seriously and acted on.

There was an open and inclusive culture and people who lived at the home had nothing but good things to say about the service, the staff and in particular the registered manager.

People who lived at the home and their representatives were involved and consulted about all aspects of how the service operated and the staff and manager were constantly looking at ways to improve the service.

We found one breach of regulation; you can see the action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.