Care at Owlett Hall Nursing Home

The specially-trained staff at Owlett Hall are able to provide various types of care for residents depending on their needs. Care provided at Owlett Hall includes:

• Nursing care
• Residential dementia care
• Nursing dementia care

Facilities at Owlett Hall Care Home

Each of Owlett Hall’s 57 bedrooms is decorated to a very high standard, and residents can enjoy views of the beautiful surroundings and our spacious garden, with some rooms leading out into the garden itself. Each room features an ensuite toilet and shower for convenience and accessibility, and the rooms are also fitted with TV and telephone points. Through prior arrangements, residents are allowed to bring their own furniture to help them feel more comfortable, and we also allow them to decorate their rooms in their colour of choice.

Food is prepared daily; residents are provided with three nutritious, tasty meals a day from our varied menu. These tasty meals are created by our dedicated, professional chefs who make sure residents’ nutritional needs are met.

The garden is a beautiful space for residents to relax and socialise in. It features fruit trees and raised garden beds so residents can plant shrubs, and the wonderful gazebo is the perfect place to sit and enjoy the outdoors. The garden is wheelchair-accessible, too, so each of our residents can enjoy it. 

We encourage social interaction amongst residents, and visitors are encouraged in accordance with our COVID-19 guidelines.

Activities at Owlett Hall

Keeping residents active and stimulated is crucial, and there’s a range of daily activities at Owlett Hall for them to partake in. From the creative fun of arts and crafts, knitting club, baking and gardening to gentle physical activity like armchair yoga and zumba, there’s something for every resident to enjoy. 

The home is located just a short distance from all the local amenities, shops, cafes and more. Owlett Hall has its own minibus to transport residents to the town centre, or residents can take public transport, should they be able to do so safely. Nearby are the Birstall Retail Park, a Showcase Cinema, Tongs Garden Centre and Morley and Batley leisure centres.

Regulation Reports

Inspections are carried out at intervals determined by the Care Quality Inspectorate. After each inspection, homes are provided with a report, a rating and usually some recommendations to help develop or improve the service. Any recommendations are acted upon promptly. No matter home’s rating, it’s well worth having a chat with our team to get the latest information on every aspect of our care and service. We’re always happy to talk through any questions you might have.

Visiting Times & Parking

We are allowing visits in line with current Government guidance.

A message from the care home manager Paulina Drzewiecka

Response to CQC report. Published 03 February 2020.

We are writing to share with you our response and actions following the last CQC inspection report. During the inspection there were many positive areas identified. However, for the purpose of this statement we have focused on the action taken in response to some findings that identified certain areas as needing improvement.

This is to provide appropriate assurance to our residents and relatives (as well as key health and social care partners) that we take all feedback seriously to ensure a great living experience for our residents.

Actions taken to improve the service following the inspection:

• All nurses and nursing assistants have been added to the Boots online medication training portal and all have completed said training
• All nurses and nursing assistants have undergone a medication competency assessment – this will be reassessed annually
• Daily medication audits are being undertaken and discussed with the home manager
• A new variable dose medication chart has been implemented to ensure mediation is administered within the correct time scales
• Covert administration protocols are in place for residents who need their medication administered covertly. These include information and guidance from the pharmacist
• All nurses and nursing assistants have undergone diabetes training
• Four-hourly oxygen check forms are in place and these are checked daily by the home manager
• All resident care plans have been reviewed and updated to reflect current needs
• Oral hygiene checks are now inputted electronically and are checked daily by the home manager and discussed at the daily meeting
• Shower records are now submitted electronically and are checked daily by the home manger and discussed at the daily meeting
• Staff are now receiving regular supervisions, and these are entered onto a supervision matrix
• Call bells are checked daily by the home manager and discussed at the daily meeting
• Repositioning, food and fluid charts are checked daily by the home manager and discussed at the daily meeting
• Cream charts have reverted to paper-based for ease of tracking when applied. Charts are checked daily by the home manager and discussed at the daily meeting

Owlett Hall has an internal support team on hand to individually support the home in delivering the highest quality resident experience. A range of audits take place at home, regional and corporate level to ensure additional quality assurance.

Since the inspection the home has received a Internal Quality Audit review and a review from Leeds City Council and Clinical Commissioning Group.  Both these reviews highlighted significant improvements since the CQC inspection.

Below are a few examples of how the home has provided life enrichment and activities for the residents:

• ‘Pub games night’ held where the residents were involved in the organisation as well as participation
• Knitting club set up and run by one of our residents
• Poppy and Remembrance Day wreath making, using the bottoms of plastic bottles as the poppies. Residents have enjoyed making these and the activity generated conversations about what Remembrance Day means to them

Below are a couple of examples of recent feedback we have received:

• “Thank you so much for the monthly newsletter. This made it all the way to Australia and was very informative of life at Owlett Hall. Nice to be able to WhatsApp mum”
• “Nice to receive the newsletter. Pleased to hear mum is getting better and socialising more”
• “(Name removed) did a lovely thing for mum.  Her teddy bear was sick and (name removed) took it to the nurse to be checked over and brought it back to mum and said all was well. Really reassured mum.”

If you would like to know more about the great things that are happening at Owlett Hall, please contact us.

Wendy Johnson

Home Manager

Mental Health Care Centre in Bradford

Situated in Bradford, the 85-room facility at The Links Care Centre offers a range of specialist care for residents, ranging from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s care, to care for stroke victims.

Overseeing all aspects of the care centre, Joanna Fisk manages a team of 10 nurses and 60 care assistants, many of whom are trained to NVQ level 2-3. The team at The Links Care Centre operate five units, each tailored to the dependency levels of the residents to ensure the right level of care is received – care periods are therefore varied between long, short and trial terms.

With a main kitchen, as well as extra kitchens in other units, the nutritional needs of residents are always met for a balanced diet. Kitchen staff cater to all likes and dislikes for a balanced diet, and residents are encouraged to share their food preferences with staff so that they can be met. The kitchens are also used for activities such as baking or independent cooking where possible.

Rooms feature an en suite and residents are allowed to bring their own furniture and can choose the decoration to make surroundings more familiar and comforting. The site features two large gardens which can be accessed by residents, as well as a small indoor garden. These spaces give residents different areas to relax in, while car parking space is available for up to 16 cars.

To help keep residents active and social, there are numerous activities planned by the Links Care team, This includes games, parties, mindful activities and various therapies. Trips are regularly taken to local attractions such as shops, the seaside, the local cinema and restaurants. Family meetings are also arranged, with outings encouraged where possible to help stimulate residents and keep them active socially.

Visiting times for the care centre are between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday, with out-of-hours visits allowed when pre-arranged.