Enter and view: Oakes Care Centre

Healthwatch Kirklees gather information on people’s experiences of health and social care services and there are times when it is appropriate for Healthwatch Kirklees to see and hear for themselves how services are being delivered: these visits are called ‘Enter and View’, they are not inspections.

Healthwatch Kirklees visited Oakes Care Centre on Tuesday 24th March 2015.

The summary of findings highlighted areas in relation to patient feedback, staff feedback and observation. The key findings indicated that the visit to Oakes Care centre was an enjoyable experience, the home was welcoming and had a calm atmosphere and was maintained to a high standard. Healthwatch Kirklees really liked the idea of the themed rooms, especially the beach room which we had never witnessed before on our visits. The staff Healthwatch Kirklees met at Oakes Care Centre were caring and cheerful and spoke to residents in friendly, easy to understand language. There was an emphasis on meeting individual needs and staff treated residents with care and dignity. Healthwatch Kirklees felt that needs of residents were met but some needed to be reminded more frequently of their choices, which the manager assured us does happen. Visitors were greeted warmly on arrival and regular visitors with knowledge of the door codes were able to enter and depart as they wished. Activities seemed to be an area that residents enjoyed, and visitors mentioned had improved lately, with mention from some that outings would be something they would like more of.

Healthwatch Kirklees raised 2 recommendations in relation to activities.