Bury St Edmunds: Home care business 1 Oak expands to Great Whelnetham from Sudbury

A home care business has expanded into the Bury St Edmunds area to help tackle the ‘problem of isolation’ in Suffolk.

Three years after launching in Sudbury, 1 Oak Home has opened an office in Great Whelnetham to provide a carer service to older residents to prevent such a need for hospital admissions.

Angel Clark, co-owner of 1 Oak, said: “Following on from the success and feedback we have achieved in Sudbury, we are keen to support those living in and around Bury St Edmunds.

“The team at 1 Oak feel passionately about delivering high quality care and beating isolation to support truly independent living.

“So much of the time we hear of inadequate quality when it comes to the care of our loved ones. With a population of ageing people, the quality of care being delivered is more important now than ever.”

1 Oak Home Care offers regular personal care, medication support, respite care, and also provide home maintenance and key safe installations. The addition of 10-15 staff members has created a team of 44.

1 Oak, which stands for ‘one of a kind’, has 40 clients in Sudbury. Staff also organise day trips and local social events to encourage friendship and prevent loneliness.

Miss Clark said she is motivated to help the 17,000 people over the age of 65 in Suffolk, around one in ten of the demographic, who are affected by isolation.

She added: “1 Oak go above and beyond, always in all ways - supporting both the persons needs and wants at every visit.

“1 Oak Care offers services that contribute to a much better quality of life with the view to cut down hospital admissions by having highly trained staff. “

Mrs Clark is herself from a health and social care background, and said staff are all well-trained. The organisation has also set-up links with dog walkers and hairdressers to provide additional services to clients.

The newly built office in Great Whelnetham was opened after approval from the Care Quality Commission. Staff will be primarily based there while not attending clients.

Miss Clark said: “The care we offer to our clients is extended to our staff, all of our staff are treated as if they were our own family and we support them in every aspect of their career.”