Oak Farm

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Most people who used the service, and their relatives, told us they were able to exercise choice and control in relation to their care. Care plans contained specific details about how people wished their care to be delivered and staff aimed to respect this. Although people praised the healthcare provided, some expressed a wish for a more flexible approach which supported their independence. We observed kind and caring interactions from staff providing health and care support.

This service scored 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We received some mixed feedback about this from people who used the service. Whilst some felt the service made sure their individual needs, wants, goals and aspirations were clearly set out and worked towards, others were not so positive. However, most acknowledged they were supported to express their preferences and these were supported most of the time. Relatives were positive about how the service provided reflected their family member's needs and preferences.

Staff told us they understood their responsibility to promote and respect people's choices and viewed people as individuals. However, they were not able to give us a rationale for why all but 2 of the people in the main house were in bed by 8pm on the evening we carried out our site visit.

We observed that although staff knew people's needs well and respected their views and rights, sometimes deployment of staff made it difficult to support people's individual choices and preferences. However, care plans captured people's needs and choices well. Our observation on our out of hours visit was that many people had gone to bed very early rather than pursue other activities of their own choosing and which would be more usual for people of their age.

People's needs, goals and individual aspirations were captured in care plans which took account of their individual characteristics. A keyworker system was in operation but people's goals were not always clear and associated risk assessments to enable people to achieve their goals was not always evident.

Some people told us their rights were respected and felt the staff supported them well in the choices they made and were very happy. Others felt they did not have enough control over their care and treatment and were keen to develop their independent living skills. Some people also expressed they were very bored, especially in the evenings and had given up asking for this to be addressed. One person said' 'There's nothing to do. Nothing for people to do [in the evenings] except watch TV'. Relatives' feedback was positive and many felt their family member was treated in a person centred-way. One relative commented on how their family member did not like a particular aspect of their care delivered by the nursing staff. This had been documented and delegated to care staff and all risks assessed.

Staff demonstrated they understood people's needs and gave people choice over small and large decisions in their lives. They acknowledged that, at times, staff deployment meant people's expectations could not always be met in the timeframe they wished.

We observed that although staff knew people's needs well and respected their views and rights, sometimes deployment of staff made it difficult to support people's individual choices and preferences. However, care plans captured people's needs and choices well. Our observation on our out of hours visit was that many people had gone to bed very early rather than pursue other activities of their own choosing and which would be more usual for people of their age.

Care plans recorded people's needs and preferences clearly. Review of progress towards people's goals was not always easy to locate.

People told us they could rely on staff to ease any pain, distress or discomfort. One person said, 'Staff are good - no complaints. If I pull the call bell they come.' Relatives' feedback included positive examples of staff providing care sensitively to their family member. They said, 'The staff understand my relative's needs. I see them talking to [my family member] to explain what is happening, like when they move [them]. They include my relative in conversations. They massage my relative's hands and give [them] things to hold onto to stop the contractions they have in their hands.' When people have had cause to raise a concern or formal complaint they found the service to be responsive to them.

Staff told us they were able to respond to people's immediate needs and knew them well enough to provide person-centred care. They acknowledged that some parts of the day were more stretched than others which impacted on their ability but nobody had any major concerns they could not meet people's needs.

People's needs were responded to in appropriate timeframes and no one appeared neglected. Staff responded quickly to call bells and although staff said they were busy staff appeared calm and unhurried.

Staffing was quite stable and a number of staff told us they had left the service for other employment and then returned. Staff were very positive about the support and leadership from senior management at the service. Staff were particularly keen to provide positive feedback about the registered manager. One senior member of staff explained, '- [The registered manager] is kind and notices if something is wrong. She is caring and she listens to us.' Staff told us they wanted to do a good job for the manager. Care staff felt well supported by the management team and the nurses, who acted as role models for them. Staff who had been recruited from overseas via the government sponsorship scheme told us they felt well supported and fully integrated into the team.

New staff were given a structured induction, supervision and ongoing support from leaders at the service. Staff meetings, supervision sessions and appraisals gave staff opportunities to raise issues and explore any concerns they had. More senior leaders from the organisation were in regular attendance at the service for staff to meet with should they wish to.