A MECHANICAL engineer who is now managing a successful care home in Grange is celebrating after receiving “wonderful” feedback in a recent inspection.

Charlotte Ozanne, manager of the Grange Cottage care home, is delighted that her team has secured a “good” accreditation in its latest Care Quality Commission inspection.

The care home, off Kents Bank Road, is home to just nine residents, something Mrs Ozanne considers to be the key to its success.

She said: “Our ethos is to create a home from home environment. Having just nine residents means we get to know every one of our residents perfectly.

“Some of the larger care homes can sometimes feel a bit like an institution and that’s what we work so hard not to be.”

Mrs Ozanne works with 11 members of staff who all work hard to maintain the care home’s unique identity.

She said: “Over the years I’ve built up a wonderful team, some of whom have been by my side for years and I couldn’t have done it without them.

“A caring personality is something I look for in all my staff because you can teach someone about the practical side of care but you can’t teach someone to be caring.”

Mrs Ozanne started work at Grange Cottage four years ago after giving birth to her daughter.

Having enjoyed a career as a mechanical engineer at BAE Systems, Mrs Ozanne decided to try something new after becoming a mother so started to work part time as a carer and quickly worked her way up.

She said: “I’ve loved it. It’s incredibly rewarding and every day is different. We’re working with individuals with different needs and they wake up every morning with a different outlook.”

The inspection, which was carried out at the beginning of last month, found that life at the care home enabled residents to maintain the normality of everyday life.

The report said: “We saw that people were treated with kindness, patience and respect. They made choices about their lives and the decisions they made were respected.”

Mrs Ozanne was delighted by the feedback and the recognition the home has received.

She said: “It’s wonderful to get the recognition for all the hard work we do and it’s lovely to hear the good feedback from the relatives and residents that they appreciate and value what we do."