Oaklands staff celebrate the good CQC report.

Operations manager Helen Gosling said: “We are pleased to have maintained our good rating and welcome the inspectors’ positive comments in their report. “We care about everyone involved with the home and are continuously looking to improve. Our team share our vision and make a fantastic difference to people’s lives. I would also like to thank everyone for their great feedback about the home.”  

Inspectors reported that people they had spoken to described staff as caring, kind and helpful and said they were consistently treated with compassion, empathy and respect. A visiting relative singled out three care staff as “my little angels” while one resident commented: “It’s very nice, I really do like it a lot. The staff are all very good and they look after us very well.” The report highlights the fact that the staff knew residents and their histories well and regularly engaged in meaningful conversations and interactions with them.  

“People and their relatives told us they were involved in planning the care and support they received and were able to make choices and decisions and maintain their independence as much as possible,” said the inspectors. The report observes that staff demonstrated the same consistent level of skill, experience and support as during the previous inspection. One resident told the inspectors: “The staff definitely know what they are doing, no doubt about that. They have to use the hoist to get me in and out of my wheelchair and they always do it brilliantly.”  

The report describes lunchtime as a “relaxed and sociable occasion” with residents saying they enjoyed their meals. “People said they were involved in discussions and decisions regarding the menus and options and could choose what they wanted,” observed the inspectors. One resident said: “The food is always very good,” while another told inspectors: “The chef cooks some lovely dinners.” Residents and their families told inspectors they felt completely safe at Oaklands.  

And the report observes: “The staff team continued to work cohesively to ensure people living in the home were consistently safe, well cared for and happy.” Inspectors describe the home as well-led with one member of staff telling them: “We’ve got an excellent staff team now and the management team are also hands-on and really supportive. It’s like a big family.”