Oakleigh Residential carehome

What families say

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity60
• Cleanliness50
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-12-06 · Report published 2019-12-06 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"The Safety domain was rated Requires Improvement at the October 2019 inspection. This is the only domain that did not achieve a Good rating, and it sits alongside four Good ratings in the other domains. The published report does not specify which aspect of safety fell short, whether that was medicines management, staffing levels, infection control, or another area. A July 2023 review found no evidence requiring a change to the overall rating, but a full re-inspection has not been published since 2019.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement rating in Safety is the single most important finding in this report for you as a family. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing and medicines management as the two areas where safety most commonly slips in smaller residential homes. Because the published report gives no detail on what caused the Requires Improvement rating, you cannot assess whether the problem has been fully resolved. The July 2023 desk review suggests nothing catastrophic has emerged since, but a desk review is not the same as inspectors walking the floor. This is not a reason to rule the home out, but it is a reason to ask very specific questions before you decide.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that safety in care homes is most at risk during night hours, when staffing ratios fall and senior oversight is reduced. Homes that log and openly discuss near-misses and incidents tend to have better safety records than those that treat incidents as isolated events.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to explain, specifically, what the Requires Improvement finding in Safety related to in 2019, and what evidence they can show you that the issue has been resolved. Then ask how many staff are on duty between 10pm and 6am for 31 residents, and what their qualification level is."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the October 2019 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published report does not provide specific detail on what inspectors observed, which staff qualifications were reviewed, how frequently care plans are updated, or how the home works with GPs and other health professionals. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied at the time of the inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effectiveness is a positive baseline, but the lack of published detail means you cannot assess whether your parent's specific needs, particularly around dementia or physical disability, would be well supported. Good Practice evidence from the Leeds Beckett review found that care plans which are treated as living documents, updated after every significant health change and co-produced with families, are a reliable marker of genuinely effective care. Food quality is also a meaningful signal: homes where nutrition is taken seriously tend to score higher on resident wellbeing overall. Healthcare access is rated at 20.2% importance in our family review data, so ask directly about GP visit frequency and how the home manages health changes between appointments.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies dementia-specific training as a key predictor of care quality. Staff who understand the neurological basis of behaviours that may challenge are significantly more likely to respond with patience and skill rather than restriction or sedation.","watch_out":"Ask the manager when care plans are reviewed: ask for a specific answer such as monthly, quarterly, or after every health change, not a general statement. Then ask whether you would be invited to take part in your parent's care review, and how that would work in practice."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the October 2019 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. No specific inspector observations, resident testimony, or family quotes are included in the published report. The Good rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied with the quality of interactions and approach to dignity at the time of the visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important factor in family satisfaction, appearing in 57.3% of positive reviews in our database of 3,602 family reviews across UK care homes. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good rating here is reassuring, but without published detail you cannot assess from the report alone how staff actually interact with residents day to day. The most reliable way to assess this is to visit unannounced or at a less predictable time, such as mid-morning rather than during a scheduled tour. Watch how staff speak to residents in corridors: are they unhurried, do they use the resident's preferred name, do they make eye contact?","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, tone of voice, physical proximity, and unhurried body language, matters as much as verbal communication for people with advanced dementia who may have limited speech. Staff who understand this provide meaningfully better emotional care.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch a staff member interact with a resident who has not been prepared for your arrival. Notice whether they knock before entering a room, use the resident's preferred name, and give them time to respond before moving on."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the October 2019 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care. The published report contains no specific detail about what activities are offered, whether individual interests are recorded and acted on, how the home supports residents with advanced dementia to engage, or how end-of-life care is approached. The home caters for adults with dementia and physical disabilities, which means responsiveness to individual need is particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of what drives positive family reviews, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. A Good rating here is a positive signal, but the absence of detail in the report means you cannot tell whether activities are varied, person-led, or largely group-based. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate or advanced dementia: one-to-one engagement, including everyday tasks like folding, gardening, or looking through photographs, can significantly reduce agitation and improve wellbeing. With 31 beds and a mix of residents including those with physical disabilities, ask specifically how the home supports someone who cannot join a group.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and occupation-focused approaches, where residents engage in purposeful everyday tasks rather than passive group entertainment, are among the most effective interventions for reducing distress and supporting identity in people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator, or the manager if there is no dedicated coordinator, to show you the activity record for a resident with advanced dementia over the past two weeks. Ask how many of those entries were one-to-one rather than group sessions."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the October 2019 inspection, and this is an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The registered manager, Mr Mohammed Mawji, is also the nominated individual, meaning one person holds both roles and is directly accountable for the home's quality and governance. A desk review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring a change to the rating. No further detail about management culture, staff feedback processes, or governance systems is available in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Good Practice research consistently finds that homes with a visible, long-serving manager who staff feel comfortable speaking to tend to perform better across all domains. The fact that the home improved from Requires Improvement to Good under the current manager's leadership is a meaningful signal. However, the inspection is now several years old, and a desk review is not a substitute for a full inspection. Management communication with families accounts for 11.5% of what drives positive reviews in our data. Ask directly how the manager makes themselves available to families, and what happens when a concern is raised.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear of negative consequences, often described as a speak-up culture, have lower rates of poor care and are quicker to resolve problems when they arise.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post, and ask a member of care staff (not the manager) whether they feel comfortable raising a concern if they spotted something that worried them about a resident's care."}

  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 home specialises in supporting people with dementia alongside general residential care for adults over 65. They also accommodate residents with physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team at Oakleigh provides specialist dementia care as part of their residential services. They support residents at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.