Top marks for Sale care home

Home news

Jul 12, 2021

A Sale care home has been praised by national inspectors for its approach to care and commitment to enable residents to lead fulfilling lives.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report gave Care UK’s Oakfield Croft, on Oakfield, an overall ‘Good’ rating in their first review since opening, following an unannounced inspection.

The home received ‘Good’ ratings in all five categories, including safety, effectiveness, level of care, responsiveness and having a well-led service.

Oakfield Croft’s person-centred care plans were praised by the inspectors, as well as the frequency of their review. Designed with the individual in mind, the plans include everything, from residents’ health or dietary needs to personal information to get to know them better and find tailored ways to engage with them during activities, which are organised on a daily basis.

To gather as much information as possible, the home uses life story books, which include details about the resident’s family, previous jobs, hobbies, interests, cultural diet but also old photographs. A relative said: “They ask what [resident] used to enjoy that may engage her more; they look for information to help [resident]”.

The report highlighted Oakfield Croft’s dementia-friendly environment, described as ‘high-specification’. The purpose-built care home features adapted bathrooms, designed to encourage relaxation thanks to tasteful ornaments and low-level lighting, as well as special items that would be familiar to those living with dementia, including a Singer sewing machine and clothes maiden. In addition, memory boxes filled with personal items and memorabilia are placed outside each bedroom door to help residents identify their room more easily and to remain as independent as possible while navigating the home.

The CQC team spoke to residents and relatives about their experience of the care provided. A relative said, "The overriding theme is that nothing too much trouble; whatever we ask them to do they will just do it".

The report also praised the emphasis put on training at Oakfield Croft. In addition to mandatory training and shadow shifts for new team members, an annual refresher course must be completed by all team members. The home also ensured every member of the team, including maintenance, domestic and kitchen, took part in care-related courses, including dementia awareness, in order to be mindful of residents’ needs and to better understand how to interact with everyone living within the home.

Daniel Cole, Home Manager at Oakfield Croft, said: “Everyone at Oakfield Croft works hard to provide the highest possible standards of care to all residents and their families in a warm, comfortable environment, so I’m proud we received a ‘Good’ CQC rating.

“Every resident is unique – so why should their care plan be any different? We pride ourselves in the high-quality tailored care we provide, enabling residents to lead fulfilling lives in a purpose-built environment that has been designed to promote independence and support those who live at the home.

“I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at Oakfield Croft for their dedication, which I know is also greatly appreciated by residents and their families. They are what makes our care home a home for so many residents, and I’m grateful for everything they do on a daily basis.”

To assess service standards at Oakfield Court, the CQC inspectors spoke with team members and residents, and their relatives following the inspection. They also reviewed the records and procedures already in place at the care home.

Oakfield Croft has been designed to enable residents to live active and fulfilling lives, while also promoting independence. The new care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities. The layout of the building is configured into a series of individual suites, each having a dedicated lounge/dining room to help facilitate the creation of close-knit communities, as well as facilities like a cinema, coffee shop and hair salon.

For more information on Oakfield Croft, please contact the Customer Relations Manager Jayne Eyre on jayne.eyre @careuk.com or call 0161 820 4019.    

For general information about Care UK, please visit careuk.com/oakfield-croft