About
Oakwell is a neuroaffirming autism and mental health assessment service for NW London, South Buckinghamshire and Rickmansworth, and a trading name of Hanson Care Group Ltd. It is led by Hans Naicker, an NMC-registered mental health nurse with more than 25 years in mental health.
Who this page is for: anyone who wants to know who runs Oakwell, and why.
Oakwell began with a simple belief: everyone deserves to be understood. Not just labelled, and not just processed, but genuinely understood, whatever their neurodiversity, whatever their mental health history, and whatever life has put in their way.
That belief comes from a lifetime in mental health. Oakwell’s story begins in a family of mental health professionals, where we saw from an early age what good care can mean to a family, and what it costs when people can’t find it. Between us we have spent well over 25 years working in the NHS, and the passion has only grown. It is why we do this work. CHECK: 'Between us … 25 years working in the NHS' is ambiguous; suggested 'more than 25 years in mental health, including NHS clinical leadership'. Also confirm 'a family of mental health professionals' (§3b)
We care deeply about our local communities, and especially about making sure that everyone can reach mental health support, whatever their background. Too many people wait too long, or never get the chance to ask the questions that would change how they see themselves.
When people understand themselves better, things change. They can build a career, enjoy their lives, raise families and live the everyday lives they want. That is what we want for every person who comes to us.
So every assessment we carry out is thorough, honest and kind, and every one ends with clear, practical next steps. We want you to leave knowing more about yourself than when you arrived, and knowing what happens next.
Neuroaffirming. An assessment is about understanding, not labelling. We use identity-first language, such as “autistic people”, and respect that some people prefer “person with autism”.
Strengths as well as challenges. Built around strengths as well as challenges, and always ending with a clear, practical plan.
Never a dead end. Whatever the outcome, you leave with honest feedback, recommendations and signposting to the support most likely to help.
Your choice of contact. Prefer not to phone? Email or use the form. That’s completely fine. Our accessibility statement explains calm mode and the other ways we make this site easier to use.
Honest about what we can show. As a new service, we have no reviews or client stories yet, and we will never invent them. Our reviews policy explains how we will ask for them.
Clinical Lead
NMC-registered mental health nurse
Registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Check his registration on the NMC register ↗Search for “Hans Naicker”. Search using both his first and last names.
Photo: CHECK: headshots (§1)
Hans is an NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) registered Mental Health Nurse with more than 25 years of experience across mental health, community services and neurodevelopmental care. Throughout his career, his approach has been guided by a simple principle: to understand the whole person, rather than focusing solely on a diagnosis or a set of symptoms.
He began his career in residential care before working at Lambeth, St Pancras and Ealing hospitals, and across South London and Maudsley, CNWL, Camden and Islington, and West London NHS Trusts. During his final five years within the NHS, Hans worked as a Clinical Lead for community mental health teams, where he was part of the West London NHS Trust team that piloted the Mental Health Integrated Network Teams.
In recent years, Hans has specialised in autism and neurodevelopmental assessment, working with children, young people and adults. He has been involved in more than 2,500 autism assessments, developing extensive experience in understanding the different ways autism and other neurodevelopmental differences can present across the lifespan. CHECK: where the 2,500 took place, so it can be attributed accurately (§22.10)
Hans has spent the last 3 years as a co-opted governor at a specialist secondary school and sixth form in West London for young people aged 11 to 19 with moderate to severe learning difficulties and additional needs, including autism and complex learning needs. He is the governor link for staff wellbeing and mental health, supporting the school’s staffing team in this area.
Today, as Clinical Lead at Oakwell, Hans leads a multidisciplinary team that includes an HCPC-registered clinical psychologist and an HCPC-registered speech and language therapist. His approach is thorough, neuroaffirming and person-centred, with a strong emphasis on ensuring that every assessment is meaningful and useful to the individual and their family. His aim is for people to leave the assessment process with greater clarity, a better understanding of their individual strengths and needs, and clear, practical next steps, whatever the outcome of the assessment.
Hans works with an HCPC-registered clinical psychologist and an HCPC-registered speech and language therapist. The whole team reviews each case together; the clinician who led the assessment signs the report. All clinicians hold enhanced DBS checks.
Sessions with our speech and language therapist can be in Gujarati if that helps your family.
No referral needed. Prefer not to phone? Email or use the form. That’s completely fine.
