Oakfield Ltd

What families say

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity58
• Cleanliness60
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership42
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-29 · Report published 2019-05-29 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This suggests inspectors did not identify significant concerns about staffing levels, medicines management, or infection control at the time of the visit. The home is registered for 18 beds across multiple care needs, including dementia and physical disabilities. No specific staffing ratios, falls data, or medicines audit detail is recorded in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safety is a baseline reassurance, but it tells you what was in place on one inspection day, not every day. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that night staffing is where safety most often slips in smaller homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines consistency for people with dementia who depend on familiar faces. Because no staffing numbers are published here, you cannot assess this from the report alone. Ask specifically how many permanent carers are on duty overnight and what agency usage looked like over the past month.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that consistency of staff is a significant protective factor for people with dementia: familiar carers reduce anxiety, behavioural distress, and the risk of undetected health changes overnight.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual night rota, not a template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency names for each overnight shift across the 18 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain typically covers care planning, dementia training, GP and healthcare access, nutrition, and how well staff understand individual needs. No specific detail about care plan quality, training content, food provision, or healthcare access is recorded in the published report text. A Good rating suggests inspectors did not find critical failures, but the absence of detail makes it impossible to assess the depth of practice from this report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home supporting people with dementia alongside other complex needs, the Effective domain matters enormously. The Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans should be living documents, updated after every significant change, and that families should be actively included in reviews. It also shows that dementia-specific training, particularly in non-verbal communication, makes a measurable difference to how well staff recognise distress or pain. Because the report contains no specifics here, you need to ask these questions directly on a visit. Food quality is also a reliable indicator of how genuinely the home understands individual needs: ask whether texture-modified meals look and smell appetising, and whether your parent's preferences are written into their care plan.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review identified care plan personalisation as a consistent predictor of wellbeing outcomes: homes where plans were co-produced with families and updated regularly showed lower rates of avoidable health deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask to see a (anonymised) example care plan and ask when it was last reviewed, who was present at the review, and what changed as a result of the most recent review."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well the home supports independence. No direct inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative feedback are recorded in the published report text. A Good rating suggests inspectors were satisfied with the general quality of staff interactions, but the absence of specific evidence means this cannot be confirmed from the report alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: it appears in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity appear in 55.2%. These are not abstract values; they show up in very specific, observable moments. Does a carer use your parent's preferred name without being prompted? Do they stop and make eye contact rather than talking over them? Do they knock before entering a bedroom? The Good Practice evidence base confirms that non-verbal communication is as important as spoken interaction for people with advanced dementia, and that unhurried pace is one of the clearest signals of a genuinely caring environment. Because this report provides no specific observations, observe these things yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that person-led care, knowing the individual's history, preferences, and communication style, is the foundation of dignified care for people with dementia, and that this knowledge must be embedded in daily staff practice, not only in paperwork.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how staff greet your parent or any resident who passes them in a corridor. Are they addressed by name? Does the interaction feel unhurried? Note whether staff are visibly aware of who is nearby and what that person might need."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers activities and engagement, how the home responds to individual preferences and changing needs, and end-of-life care planning. No specific activity programmes, individual engagement examples, or end-of-life planning detail is recorded in the published report text. The Good rating suggests inspectors did not find critical gaps, but the level of practice cannot be assessed from the available information.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For someone living with dementia, having a meaningful activity is not a luxury; it is a clinical need. Our family review data shows that activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive reviews, and resident happiness, which is closely tied to engagement, appears in 27.1%. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are insufficient: people with advanced dementia need one-to-one engagement, and approaches drawn from Montessori principles, such as familiar household tasks and sensory activities, show consistently better outcomes than passive entertainment. Because the report does not describe what activities are actually provided, you need to ask to see last month's activity records and ask specifically what happens for someone who cannot join a group session.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that individualised, task-based activity approaches, rather than group entertainment models, produced the most consistent improvements in wellbeing, reduced agitation, and supported a sense of purpose for people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity records from last month, not the planned schedule. Look for evidence of one-to-one sessions and ask what activity your parent would be offered if they were having a difficult day and could not join a group."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Requires Improvement at the January 2022 inspection. This is the one domain that did not achieve a Good rating. The registered manager is named as Mrs Nicola Louise Mclaurie, and the nominated individual is Mrs Sara Morrison. The published report text does not specify what aspect of leadership or governance led to the Requires Improvement rating. This is the most significant concern in the inspection findings and the area where the home has the most work to demonstrate improvement.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement rating for Well-led matters because management quality directly predicts what happens on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon when no inspector is present. Our family review data shows that management and leadership appear in 23.4% of positive reviews, and the Good Practice evidence base is consistent: leadership stability and a culture where staff can raise concerns are among the strongest predictors of sustained care quality. The report does not explain what was found to be insufficient, which means you cannot assess the risk from the published text alone. Ask the manager directly what the rating related to, what specific changes have been made, and whether a follow-up inspection has been requested. Also ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether there have been significant staff changes in the past year.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett evidence review identified leadership stability as a key predictor of care quality trajectory: homes with a consistent, visible manager who supports staff to raise concerns showed better outcomes across all domains, particularly in dementia care.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager to explain specifically what the Requires Improvement rating related to, and ask what written evidence of improvement they can show you. Also ask how long they have personally been in post, and whether a re-inspection has taken place or been requested since January 2022."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The team here works with residents who need support for sensory impairments, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. They also provide specialist dementia care, adapting their approach to each person's needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, Oakfield offers dedicated support that recognises how the condition affects each person differently. The care team understands the importance of maintaining familiar routines while providing the right level of assistance. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.