A CARE home in Oakley has been rated by residents and their families as one of the top 20 in the South East.

Oak Lodge Care Home, in Rectory Road, has been chosen as one of the top 20 out of more than 2,600 care homes in the South East, with the care home receiving an award from the UK's leading reviews guide to care homes, carehome.co.uk.

The award is based on reviews of the home home written by their residents, as well as friends and relatives.

There are nearly 17,000 care homes in the UK caring for around half a million people.

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Basingstoke Gazette: Oak Lodge in Basingstoke has been chosen by residents and their families as one of the Top 20 care homes in the South EastOak Lodge in Basingstoke has been chosen by residents and their families as one of the Top 20 care homes in the South East (Image: Oak Lodge)

Director at Forest Care, Mark Vickery, said: “Our Oak Lodge team are delighted and extremely proud to receive the award of Top 20 Care Home South East England 2024 from carehome.co.uk.

“It is a testament to the continuous hard work and dedication of home manager, Grace, Jacqui, our administrator and all of our staff who work tirelessly and selflessly in striving to deliver the highest standards of care to our residents, and it is all the more satisfying to see that reflected and appreciated by our residents and their families who very kindly take the time to submit their reviews.”

Over 12,000 of these care homes support older people aged 65 and over, with around half of these residents paying for their own care.

The rest of the care homes care for people with learning disabilities and mental health issues, and are largely funded by their local authorities.

People are living longer, and with 19 per cent of the total population in the UK aged 65 years or older, which equates to 11 million people, demand for care homes is set to grow.

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Reviews manager of carehome.co.uk, Amanda Hopkins, said: “We now have over 300,000 reviews of care homes on carehome.co.uk, which means we can give a really good insight into the kind of care and facilities offered by thousands of care homes all over the UK.

“Our reviews show the standard of a care home’s facilities and the quality of their care and support, staff, activities and nutrition as well as if the care home is good value for money.

“We would like to congratulate Oak Lodge on being a Top 20 care home in the South East as their reviews show they provide an excellent standard of care. It is such an achievement to be named as a top rated care home by the residents who actually receive the care as well as their family and friends.”

“Choosing a care home can be overwhelming and very time consuming for both the person going to live there as well as their family, so we hope our awards which are given to the highest rated homes will help to simplify the search.”

More information on Oak Lodge can be found at forestcare.co.uk/homes/oak-lodge. To search for care homes in Hampshire, visit carehome.co.uk/care_search.