CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Oak Lodge Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found enough staff, attentive care and improved support with food and drink, but staffing pressures were ongoing.
This was an unannounced targeted inspection. Inspectors visited on 7 February 2022 and checked concerns about staffing, people's eating and drinking, and the safety and maintenance of the home. They spoke with people and staff, observed care, and reviewed care plans, audits and other records.
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff were busy but people did not wait too long for care. The home was also working to improve information for agency staff and had taken steps to manage recruitment and retention problems linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
People received suitable support with eating and drinking. Care plans recorded dietary needs and risks, and staff understood the support people required. The home also had suitable infection control arrangements and systems for checking the safety and maintenance of the building.
The home was inspected but not rated overall, or for Safe and Effective. This was because the inspection looked only at specific concerns, not the whole service. The previous overall rating was Good, published in September 2018, and those ratings were not changed.
Staff knew people well
Staff were attentive and understood people's individual needs. Inspectors saw that people received care without undue waits.
“Staff were very attentive and knew people well.” from the report
Food and drink support
Care plans included people's nutrition and hydration needs. Staff understood modified food and drink requirements and supported people during meals.
“People's support plans contained appropriate information about their dietary needs.” from the report
Staffing safeguards
The manager used a dependency tool and checked call bell response times to help decide whether staffing levels were suitable.
“The registered manager assessed staffing levels using a recognised dependency tool, which calculated an appropriate staffing ratio.” from the report
Infection control and visits
Inspectors were assured about infection prevention measures, including personal protective equipment, testing and safe visiting arrangements.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Ongoing staffing pressure
needs fixingThe home had significant recruitment and retention problems linked to the pandemic. Several staff felt there were not enough staff and that some agency staff did not understand people's needs well enough.
“Seven staff we spoke to felt that there were not enough staff in place and that some agency staff did not have a good understanding of people's needs.” from the report
Limited scope of the inspection
minorThis visit followed specific concerns and did not assess the whole service. The ratings from the previous full inspection were therefore not reviewed.
“Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection.” from the report
- 01How many permanent and agency staff are currently working on each shift?
- 02How do you make sure agency staff understand each person's needs before providing care?
- 03What further action has been taken to improve recruitment, retention and staff wellbeing?
- 04How are changes to people's eating, drinking and dietary needs shared with all staff?
- 05How are staffing levels checked at busy times, such as mealtimes?
This was a targeted inspection of specific parts of Safe and Effective, focusing on staffing, nutrition and hydration, premises and equipment, and infection control; the full key questions and other areas were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 31 March 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, September 2018
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind care, personalised support and strong leadership.
This was an unannounced inspection in June and July 2018. Inspectors observed care, mealtimes, activities and medicines. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and a visiting professional. They also reviewed care records, medicines records, recruitment files, training records and quality checks.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines systems, suitable training and good access to health professionals. People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect.
The home provided personalised activities and support, including specialist dementia activities and good end-of-life care. People and families were involved in care planning and their feedback was used to make improvements.
At the previous inspection in November 2016, the home had breached two regulations. A focused inspection in September 2017 found the required improvements had been sustained. This full inspection found no continuing breaches.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to support people safely and found that medicines were stored and given safely. They found no gaps in the medicines administration records they checked.
“The provider employed sufficient staff and carried out recruitment checks to make sure staff were suitable to work in a care setting.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People had positive relationships with staff. Staff asked permission, offered choices and supported people to remain as independent as possible.
“People were supported by staff who demonstrated kindness, compassion and a genuine interest in the people they supported.” from the report
Personalised activities
The home adapted activities around people's interests, abilities and history. Inspectors found examples of activities helping people with dementia to feel calmer, more engaged and connected.
“There had been improvements in people's quality of life, engagement and communication.” from the report
Good end-of-life support
The home created dedicated care plans for people nearing the end of their life and worked with relatives, doctors and hospice staff. Relatives were also supported during this time.
“The provider took care to make sure people at the final stages of life received care and support which met their needs, respected their wishes, and kept them free of pain.” from the report
Strong leadership and improvement
Inspectors found clear responsibilities, regular audits and a culture of learning from incidents. People, relatives and staff were encouraged to give feedback.
“Quality assurance processes were thorough, wide ranging and soundly embedded in a system of continuous improvement.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you adapt care and activities to match my relative's interests, history, communication needs and abilities?
- 02How are staffing levels arranged on each floor, including the senior carer and floating staff member described in the report?
- 03How will you monitor my relative's eating and drinking, particularly if they have a choking or dehydration risk?
- 04How are families involved in care plan reviews and decisions about mental capacity or end-of-life care?
- 05How do you record and act on complaints, incidents and feedback from residents and relatives?
This was an unannounced inspection of all five key questions and the premises, following an earlier focused inspection of Safe only; the previous breaches were recorded as resolved. This explanation was written from the published report of 27 September 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Oak Lodge Care Home
4 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not ratedEffective: Inspected but not rated
- September 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvement
- January 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 16 November 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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Most charge £980 to £1,350 a week. 39 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
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