CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Ocknell Park
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, February 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, effective and well-led care, but medicines and decision-making records needed improvement.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 22 and 28 December 2022. Inspectors reviewed Safe, Effective and Well-led only. They spoke with people, relatives, staff, managers and a GP, and checked care, staff, medicines and management records.
The home was rated Good overall, with Good ratings for Safe, Effective and Well-led. Inspectors found people were supported by staff who knew their needs, received appropriate training and helped them take part in activities and the community.
There were problems with some medicines processes and with records about mental capacity and best-interest decisions. The provider made several medicines improvements and replaced a poor laundry sink and worktop during or shortly after the inspection.
The previous inspection rating was Good, published on 8 June 2021. This inspection did not assess Caring or Responsive, so those areas were not given new ratings in this report.
Staff knew people well
Staff were familiar with people's needs and wishes. One-to-one support was used in a way that kept people safe without unnecessarily crowding them.
“People were supported by a staff team familiar with their needs and wishes.” from the report
Community involvement
Staff supported people to take positive risks and develop interests outside the home. One person who had not previously joined activities outside the home began enjoying regular outings.
“People who had previously been reluctant to participate in community activities had developed interests locally with staff support.” from the report
Improved management
Inspectors found that recent management changes had improved staff morale and made care more person-centred and less restrictive.
“Recent changes to the management team had improved staff morale and had ensured people's care was person centred and less restrictive.” from the report
Training and recruitment
The provider completed pre-employment checks, gave staff an induction and provided extensive mandatory training. Agency staff also received an induction before starting work.
“Staff completed extensive mandatory training, some online and some face to face training.” from the report
Choice and involvement
People helped set the agendas for monthly keyworker meetings and could discuss how the service was working for them. Meals and activities were adapted to individual wishes.
“The agendas were set mainly by people and there were opportunities to discuss how people felt their service was going, and to make changes.” from the report
Medicines procedures
seriousStaff did not always follow safe systems for giving, recording and storing medicines. Some liquid medicines had incorrect in-use expiry dates, and guidance for variable-dose and when-required medicines was incomplete or inconsistent.
“People were supported by staff who did not always follow safe systems and processes to administer, record and store medicines.” from the report
Mental capacity records
needs fixingInspectors were not assured that the provider had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act. More work was needed on capacity assessments, best-interest decisions and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications.
“We were not assured from records that the provider had a clear understanding of the MCA” from the report
Laundry fixtures
minorThe laundry sink and worktop had excess limescale and had deteriorated. The provider replaced them shortly after the inspection and supplied evidence that the area was then compliant with infection control practice.
“The laundry had a sink unit with excess limescale and deteriorated worksurface.” from the report
- 01What checks are now in place to make sure medicines are administered, recorded and stored safely?
- 02How do staff decide when to give variable-dose and when-required medicines, and when must they seek medical advice?
- 03Have all mental capacity assessments, best-interest decisions and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards applications been reviewed and completed?
- 04How will the home tell families when staff changes affect people whose health needs require familiar staff?
- 05How are people involved in deciding their activities, community outings, meals and daily support?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led only; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and the report used the previous ratings for any key questions not inspected. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 February 2023 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, June 2021
Ocknell Park is rated Good; inspectors found safe, effective and well-led care, with some staffing, appraisal and infection-control issues to watch.
This was an unannounced inspection on 21 April 2021. Two inspectors spoke with relatives, staff and visiting professionals. They observed interactions and checked care records, medicine records, staff recruitment files, training information and quality checks.
The home was rated Good overall, and Good for Safe, Effective and Well-led. Inspectors found people were protected from abuse, risks were assessed, medicines were recorded as given, and enough staff were deployed to meet people's needs.
The inspection followed concerns about management changes and low staff morale. Inspectors found no evidence that people were at risk of harm because of these concerns. Staff morale had improved, although there had been recent management changes and high staff turnover.
Effective improved from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection to Good. Caring and Responsive were not inspected during this visit, so their previous ratings were used in the overall rating.
Enough staff on the day
Rotas matched people's assessed needs and inspectors observed that people received the support they required.
“Rotas showed there were sufficient numbers of care staff deployed to meet people's needs.” from the report
Detailed care planning
The care plans inspectors saw described people's needs, life histories and desired outcomes.
“The care plans seen were detailed and person centred and provided staff with the person's life history and their desired outcomes from the care and support.” from the report
Improved staff morale
Most staff said morale had improved after a difficult period linked to management changes.
“The morale over the start of the year was low but this has improved greatly.” from the report
Recent staff turnover
needs fixingA relative reported earlier staff shortages and high turnover. Staff also said the home's location made recruitment difficult and some worked extra hours.
“There has however been a high turnover of staff in the recent past” from the report
Appraisals needed improvement
minorSupervisions were on track, but inspectors said more work was needed on staff appraisals. Plans were already in place to improve them.
“However, further work was needed to improve appraisals, and plans were already in place for implementing improvements.” from the report
Infection-control lapse
minorOne staff member had painted nails, which inspectors said was an infection-control risk. Managers acted immediately to remind staff of the risks.
“However, during the inspection we observed one staff member with painted nails which is an infection control risk” from the report
Support when care is refused
minorOne relative felt staff needed to be more persistent when a person refused teeth cleaning. The report does not say this led to harm.
“However, when he refuses for example with teeth cleaning, I think they need to be more tenacious” from the report
- 01What is the current staff turnover, and how are you making sure staffing remains sufficient?
- 02What changes have been made to improve staff appraisals, and when will these be reviewed?
- 03How do you check that infection-control rules, including rules about painted nails, are followed every day?
- 04How do you support someone who refuses personal care such as teeth cleaning while respecting their choices?
- 05What were the previous ratings for Caring and Responsive, and when will these areas next be inspected?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings were used in calculating the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 June 2021 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 Ocknell Park
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2021Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2017GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- October 2016
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 October 2016.
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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