What the CQC found at Little Oaks

People, relatives and visitors praised the staff’s kindness. Staff understood people’s routines, likes, dislikes and what mattered to them.

“Management and staff enjoyed their work, and were highly motivated, kind and compassionate.” from the report

The home had safe systems for ordering, storing, giving and disposing of medicines. Staff giving medicines were trained and had their competence checked.

“The provider had safe systems in place for the ordering, storage, administration and disposal of medicines.” from the report

Care plans had become more detailed and personal. They included people’s needs, preferences and preferred routines.

“Care plans held information about people's specific needs, personal preferences, routines and how staff should support them in a way they preferred to ensure their wellbeing.” from the report

The home had acted on the previous recommendation about activities. People were supported to join activities linked to their interests and wellbeing.

“At this inspection we found the provider had followed our recommendation.” from the report

People were offered snacks and drinks, and staff knew their dietary needs. Staff contacted health professionals promptly and followed their advice.

“Referrals to health care professionals were made in a timely manner and recommendations they made were followed by staff.” from the report

The provider did not always keep a good working knowledge of what was happening in the home. Action plans, communication and quality reports were not consistently in place.

“We found a lack of provider led action plans, communications with the registered manager, such as supervision records, and quality assurance reports, to demonstrate they had good oversight of the service.” from the report

Bedroom doors and shared toilets, bathrooms and shower rooms did not have locks. This meant people were not given the choice of locking a door if they wanted to.

“We observed bedroom doors, shared toilets, bathroom and shower rooms had no locks.” from the report

Two sinks had water that was too hot, and two doors had been wedged open without a risk assessment. The provider took immediate action to repair the thermostats and door closures.

“However, the water temperature was too hot in two sinks, which the registered manager told us was not normally used by people using the service, and the occupied kitchen and a person's bedroom had their doors wedged open; this had not been risk assessed.” from the report

Records showed that not all staff had training in using an evacuation slide. The provider booked training after inspectors raised this.

“Records identified not all staff had received training in the use of an evacuation slide in an emergency, we pointed this out to the registered manager.” from the report

Some toilet and shower room doors did not have signs. People therefore had to rely on memory to know how the rooms were used.

“However, we also noted the lack of signage on doors, such as toilets and shower room, and relied on people's memory as to the usage of the room.” from the report