Oak Priory

Updated 23 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 May 2022 and ended on 26 May 2022. We visited the location’s office on 25 May 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and the extra care manager about the care they provided and reviewed various documents related to people’s care and the service provision. Following the onsite inspection visit we spoke with six people who used the service and four relatives. We also spoke with professionals who work with the service.

Updated 23 June 2022

About the service

Oak Priory is an 'extra care' service providing personal care to people living in their own apartments in Oak Priory, a large apartment building in Stoke. The service provides support to people over the age of 55. At the time of our inspection there were 48 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe and were supported by safely recruited and trained staff. People were safeguarded from abuse and neglect. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs. The provider was engaging in ongoing recruitment to ensure people had access to a regular staff team. People were supported by staff who were adhering to government guidance about infection control.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to make choices around their care and support. People were encouraged to make choices around their care delivery.

People were supported by caring staff who maintained their privacy and dignity. People felt able to raise concerns about their care and the registered manager responded to all complaints in full. People could access information in a format that supported their understanding. People had personalised care plans which gave staff clear details around their needs and wishes.

The registered manager ensured continuous learning and improvement at the service by completing regular quality assurance checks. People, their relatives and professionals all gave positive feedback about the manager. People were supported to access professionals where this was required. People were encouraged to give regular feedback about their care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 07 May 2021 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 01 June 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.