Oak Tree Lodge

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We observed staff always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff spoke fondly of people who lived at the home. People told us they were well cared for by staff they liked. One person said, “The staff are lovely, they’re very caring. They take their time, they don’t rush you; they’re kindness itself.” Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. One professional said, “The staff are a very friendly team. They always make me feel welcome when I visit the home.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. People told us staff took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. One person said, “I’m not interested in the TV these days, but I love to sing, and the staff arrange for singers to come in. They’re excellent. I enjoy singing every song.” Another person told us, “I try to be as independent as I can, but I need help. They wash and bath me and put out fresh clothes for me each morning. I can have a bath whenever I want one, there’s always lots of bubbles. I don’t want to come out!”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.  Staff understood and respected people’s individual needs and placed great importance on supporting people’s independence. One staff member said, “I do that every day. For example, a resident didn’t like to have personal care. I spent time with them explaining the risks and how we could support them. I talked them through how they could do as much as they could as they were embarrassed. The resident is much more comfortable now and very often has a bath which makes them happy.”

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We observed staff and managers knew people well and responded quickly to any requests for support. One staff told us, “If a resident becomes upset, I just go sit and chat with them and give them extra attention. I know they are feeling better because they smile, and you see their eyes light up.” Another staff member said, “We talk to people, make them feel better by sitting and chatting. One person enjoys doing a puzzle, so we do that, and I get them a coffee as they prefer that. Spending time with people, talking to them and distracting them helps them to feel better.”

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the home and found the registered manager and management team to be supportive. One staff said, “The managers are really good if you have a problem, they will sort it out. I feel proud to work at Oak Tree Lodge.”