We were privileged to have the Mayor of Poole, Cllr Marion Le Poidevin, officially open our newest care home. Guests included members of the community and local healthcare professionals.

Guests were given the opportunity to take a tour of the new purpose-built 84-bed, residential, nursing and dementia care home based in Kingsmill Road. Our focus at Oakdale care home has been to create environments which support the quality of life of residents and the team who work here. We have invested in making the home visually attractive, with all the comforts of home.

There are many communal spaces for residents, families and team members to come together as the new Oakdale family, but we also have more intimate spaces in which residents can relax or watch the world go by. The hub of our home will be the bistro and local healthcare professionals are welcome to call in from time to time to enjoy the home-made cakes and biscuits!

Rachel Dryden, Chief Executive Officer of Encore, commented: “We are so proud of what we have achieved at Oakdale. We believe that we have made our vision a reality, of creating an environment that not only supports residents’ care, but also the wellbeing of our team. It is our team that turns the building from bricks and mortar into a home and their kindness and compassion really shines through in everything that they do.”

Attendees also had chance to meet with members of the care team who introduced the new training room that is also available for members of the community to use. David Taylor, Home Manager of Oakdale, explained: “We are committed to serving our local community and look forward to getting to know our neighbours over the coming months. We hope the public will use this learning resource and in return give us the opportunity to get to know them. We will provide all visitors with a warm welcome and some homemade cakes.”

We have ensured that each community within the home has access to outdoor space and the garden provides safe walking pathways with colour contrasting edging, raised beds, and activity areas such as the potting shed.

Oakdale is the latest addition of an established family of care homes managed by Encore Care Homes to open just minutes from Poole’s town centre. Encore now manages three care homes in Dorset including Great Oaks in Bournemouth and Fairmile Grange on the grounds of Christchurch Hospital. The business also manages Hamble Heights in Fareham, Hampshire.

For more information, visit www.oakdalepoole.co.uk or call 01202 878 149 to book a visit to look around Oakdale care home.