Following an un-announced inspection in May, Great Oaks care home in Poole Lane was given the positive rating after inspectors spoke to staff, residents, and their relatives. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the team has introduced enhanced cleaning, PPE, and infection-control measures for the benefit of themselves, the residents and their family members. 

The inspection focused on two areas: ‘Safe’ and ‘Well-Led’. The final report judges the home as ‘Good’ overall, with all five areas achieving this rating. The report not only acknowledged the vast improvements that had been made in the home’s systems and procedures, but also recognised the positivity and kindness of its staff and the contentment of the residents.

Great Oaks care home provides residential, nursing and dementia-dedicated care to the residents as part of the Encore Care Homes family which also includes Oakdale in Poole, Fairmile Grange in Christchurch and Hamble Heights in Fareham.

Praising the care home, the CQC report championed the positive culture that the care home team have created. It reads: “Staff felt proud to work at Great Oaks and were complimentary about their colleagues. Some of the comments we received were: ‘I am proud to work at Great Oaks and I am very happy’, ‘Residents have a person-centred experience and it's a lovely atmosphere’ and ‘It's been an extremely tough year, but we have all come together as a team’.”

Lindsay Rees, Director of Health and Care at Encore Care Homes, said: “The team at Great Oaks have worked so hard together to reach this point, and have kept driving forward despite all the challenges that have been ever-present in the last 12 months. It has been a pleasure to support them and I am truly delighted that their commitment and dedication has been recognised. I am tremendously proud of the whole team.”

The report also highlighted the high standards of the management team, with one comment made to the CQC inspectors reading: “I cannot fault the management and the registered manager. I can't speak highly enough about them.”

Maggie Tomlin, care home manager of Great Oaks, said: “I am exceptionally proud of our absolutely brilliant team for their hard work and dedication to providing the best possible care to our residents. It’s a fantastic achievement to receive a ‘Good’ rating from the CQC inspectors who were impressed with the way we have continued to follow the government guidance on Covid measures during a year of continual change.” 

As the government’s Covid restrictions begin to lift, the Encore team is now able to welcome family members and their loved ones to have a covid-safe viewing of the purpose-built facilities available. Full PPE and rapid flow testing are in place for the safety of the care home residents, the team, and visitors. 

For more information about the care services available, go to Encorecarehomes.co.uk