Archived: Oakwood House Residential and Nursing Home

We talked with four of the people who used the service. People told us that they were comfortable and liked living there. One person told us, 'It's OK here, the people (the staff) are good.' Another person told us, 'The food is good, I always seem to be eating!' People told us that staff always asked their consent before they supported them and one person told us, 'There is nothing they (the staff) wouldn't do for me.'

The building was comfortable, clean and well maintained. We saw that the service had taken precautions to protect people from Infection and that staff had received training in infection control and food hygiene.

We saw that the provider had an effective system in place to enable people to make complaints and for them to be managed appropriately.

Relatives told us that they felt the staff had the skills and knowledge to support their next-of-kin. One relative told us how they felt, 'Very privileged' and, 'Lucky' to have their next-of-kin live in Oakwood House Residential and Nursing Home, and that they had recommended the service to others.

To keep their knowledge updated, we found staff had received refresher training on fire safety and food hygiene. We saw that systems had been put in place to ensure that staff's skills were updated as required. Fire training consisted of a mix of theory and practical training. This supported staff to understand their role in protecting people's welfare if a fire occurred.

We saw that following a visit from the Food Standards Agency in January 2013 the service had retained their, 'Very Good' (five stars) food hygiene rating.

The environment was found to be comfortable and clean with access to a range of communal areas. The garden was well maintained with facilities such as a greenhouse, summer house, water feature and barbecue. During our visit, we saw people enjoying the outside space.

We found that there were many activities for people to do at Oakwood House. We saw people reading the paper, engaging with staff and enjoying musical entertainment. Photographs of a recent holiday and other outings were on display.

Staff told us that they enjoyed their work and felt supported. Many had been at Oakwood House for quite some time. Staff also commented positively on the opportunities for training. However, we found that many staff required update training on fire safety and food hygiene.

The approach to care was found to be person centred and we saw that people were treated respectfully. Staff understood the needs of individuals and took the time to ensure these were met.