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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Oakley Lodge Care Home (57)

Goodpublished 12 March 2025, 18 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, February 2022

Oakley Lodge Care Home (57) was inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured about infection control and visiting arrangements.

This was a targeted inspection linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspectors checked infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and whether staffing pressures were affecting care. The inspection was announced and took place on 25 January 2022, with the report also recording a visit date of 28 January 2022.

Inspectors found systems to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These included visitor screening, testing, personal protective equipment, cleaning schedules and processes for isolating people who had or might have COVID-19. Staff had infection control training and access to protective equipment.

Visits were being supported inside the home, in the garden and outside the home. People could also keep in touch by video calls and, where appropriate, stay overnight with relatives. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.

What inspectors praised
  • Infection control

    Inspectors were assured that the home had measures to prevent and manage infections, including testing, protective equipment and isolation arrangements.

    “We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
  • Clean environment

    The home was described as clean and tidy, with detailed cleaning schedules signed off by staff.

    “The service was clean and tidy and free from any mal odours.” from the report
  • Family contact

    The home supported different ways for people to keep in touch with relatives, including visits, video calls and visits to relatives who could not travel.

    “Relatives who were unable to visit the service due to their own health conditions, told us the provider arranged for people to go to them instead so they could maintain their relationship.” from the report
  • Visitor arrangements

    The home supported visits and had testing measures for overnight stays at relatives' homes.

    “Relatives told us that the provider supported people to be able to have overnight visits at their relative's house and measures for testing were in place to safely support this.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How do you currently manage COVID-19 or other infection risks, and when were your infection control arrangements last reviewed?
  2. 02How do you support people who cannot tolerate testing for COVID-19?
  3. 03What visiting arrangements are currently available, including visits inside the home, in the garden and overnight stays with relatives?
  4. 04How do you manage staffing pressures, and could these affect the support available to residents?
  5. 05How do you check that staff and visiting professionals meet the current vaccination or exemption requirements?

This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated overall. This explanation was written from the published report of 4 February 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, July 2018

Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, but end-of-life wishes were not yet recorded.

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 6 June 2018. Inspectors spoke with people using the home, care staff and managers. They reviewed care records, staff files, training, medicines, complaints and quality checks.

The home supported two people at the time and could accommodate up to three people with learning disabilities and other long-term health conditions. Inspectors found effective risk assessments, enough staff, safe medicines systems and suitable recruitment checks.

People received individual care and had choices about their daily lives. Staff were described as kind, respectful and friendly. People were supported with food, healthcare, activities and independence. The home had systems for complaints and quality monitoring.

The overall rating was Good, with Good ratings for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The main shortfall was that people did not yet have end-of-life care plans, although staff said they would continue discussing their wishes.

What inspectors praised
  • Safe staffing

    Inspectors found enough staff to support people safely. Rotas and feedback showed staff were available to meet people's needs.

    “There was sufficient numbers of staff to support people safely.” from the report
  • Safe medicines

    Medicines were ordered, given, recorded, stored and audited through established systems. The records checked had no unexplained gaps.

    “People's medicines were managed safely, and they told us they were happy with how staff supported them with this.” from the report
  • Respect and choice

    People were supported to make decisions about their care and daily routines. Staff promoted privacy, dignity and independence.

    “Staff respected people's choices and supported them to maintain their independence.” from the report
  • Personalised support

    Care plans reflected people's needs, preferences and choices. Staff supported people with activities, hobbies and community outings.

    “We observed that people were supported in a person-centred way by staff to meet their individual needs.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • End-of-life planning

    needs fixing

    People did not yet have end-of-life care plans. Staff were still trying to discuss people's wishes, including where those conversations were difficult.

    “People did not have end of life care plans.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How will you record and review my relative's wishes about end-of-life care?
  2. 02How do you support someone who finds discussions about end-of-life care upsetting or difficult?
  3. 03How often will my relative's care plan be reviewed, and how will their own views be included?
  4. 04What activities and outings are available, and how does my relative choose what to do?
  5. 05How do you check that medicines records remain accurate and that any errors are corrected quickly?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering the premises and the care provided, including all five key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 31 July 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Oakley Lodge Care Home (57)

Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.

  1. February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent rating
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

    Read what inspectors found at Oakley Lodge Care Home (57) →

  2. July 2018Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Oakley Lodge Care Home (57) →

  3. April 2017

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 4 April 2017.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.

Next steps

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