Staff and residents at West Oak Care Home in Wokingham, Berkshire, are celebrating their recent Care Quality Commission inspection rating, where they scored an overall ‘outstanding’ after being reviewed for a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led service.
Currently only 3.1 per cent of England’s care homes, domiciliary care agencies and hospitals have an overall ‘outstanding’ rating, and West Oak has been ranked among the best in the country for the quality of the services it provides.
The CQC inspected the home unannounced on 30 and 31 October (the report was released on 7 December) and rated the home, run by Barchester Healthcare, as ‘outstanding' in two key assessment areas (‘responsive’ and ‘well-led’) and ‘good’ in three (‘safe’, ‘effective’ and ‘caring’).
The report stated that “The service was supported by a caring, committed and enthusiastic staff team who continued to meet people's needs with compassion, kindness and respect. They ensured they promoted people's privacy and dignity and communicated with them effectively. Measures were taken to ensure records were maintained confidentially. People and their relatives were encouraged to feel part of the service, and always welcomed.”
The report continued by describing the leadership provided by the general manager of the home, Geoffrey Honour. “The service was managed by a registered manager who was extremely experienced in social care, and respected by staff, families and external professionals.
"The registered manager and the management team ensured the service was exceptionally well-led and delivered care and support to people and their families that was responsive and caring in all ways.
"The registered manager and the staff team were committed to ensuring they offered people the very best care possible, and that people and their relatives were as involved as possible in running the service. The quality of care the service provided was constantly assessed, reviewed and improved by the provider and registered manager.”
In celebration of the rating, CEO of Barchester Healthcare Dr Pete Calveley visited the home to thank each member of the team personally, and presented each one with a £500 gift voucher in appreciation, just in time for Christmas.
On the day of the visit, Geoffrey, general manager at West Oak Care Home said: “We are ecstatic! Our team at West Oak work so hard to provide the highest possible standard of care for everyone who lives at the home and we are so delighted to be recognised for our work by the CQC, and to be rated ‘outstanding’ overall.
“I’m very proud of the whole team. Our hospitality teams, activity co-ordinators and our dedicated carers and nurses all contribute to the level of care we are able to provide. Being passionate about the residents in our care is the key to our fantastic result."
