Borovere Care Home – Alton

What families say

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-07-04 · Report published 2023-07-04 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Safe at its April 2023 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This indicates that inspectors were satisfied that risks to your parent were being managed appropriately. No specific details about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls monitoring, or infection control practices were published in the inspection report. The improvement from Requires Improvement is significant and suggests the home took action to address whatever safety concerns were identified previously.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A move from Requires Improvement to Good in Safe is worth noting. It means that whatever was wrong before has been corrected to a level that satisfied inspectors. That said, Good in Safe covers a wide range of things, including medicines management, accident monitoring, and night-time staffing. Our review data shows that families mention staff attentiveness in around 14% of positive reviews, and Good Practice evidence is clear that safety problems in care homes are most likely to surface on night shifts when staffing is thinner. You cannot tell from this report how many staff are on at night for 34 residents, and that is the single most important safety question to ask.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are the point at which safety most commonly slips in residential care. Homes that maintain consistent senior staff presence overnight have better incident rates and faster response to deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not a template. Count the number of staff on duty between 10pm and 6am, note how many are permanent versus agency, and ask what the on-call arrangement is if a resident deteriorates overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Borovere was rated Good for Effective, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. This domain was also previously rated Requires Improvement, so the improvement is meaningful. No specific details were published about the content of dementia training, how frequently care plans are reviewed, which healthcare professionals visit regularly, or how mealtimes are managed. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied that these elements met the standard at the time of inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effective is the domain that covers whether staff actually know how to care for a person with dementia, not just whether they are kind. It includes whether your parent's care plan describes who they are and what matters to them, whether a GP visits regularly, and whether food is genuinely appetising and tailored to individual needs. Our review data shows that food quality features in around 20.9% of positive family reviews, suggesting it is a meaningful marker of how much a home genuinely cares. The inspection did not record specific detail on any of these areas, so the evidence is general rather than specific. Observe a mealtime yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should reflect the person's history, preferences, and current needs, updated at least monthly for people with dementia. Homes where care plans are co-produced with families show better personalisation of daily routines.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan structure, with personal details removed. Check whether it includes the person's preferred name, life history, food preferences, and communication style, not just medical and personal care tasks. If it reads like a checklist rather than a portrait of a person, that is worth knowing before you decide."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Caring, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. This domain was previously rated Requires Improvement. No specific inspector observations were published about how staff interact with residents, whether people are addressed by preferred names, or how staff respond to distress or agitation. The Good rating tells you the standard was met but does not show you what that looks like in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities. They show up in small, observable things: whether a staff member knocks before entering a room, whether they crouch down to speak to someone seated, whether they use a person's preferred name, and whether they move without hurry during personal care. The inspection found this to be Good, which is reassuring, but you will learn more about the reality of caring at this home in a one-hour visit than from the published report. Pay attention to corridor interactions you are not meant to be watching.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people with dementia. Staff who adjust their pace, tone, and posture to the person, rather than to the task, produce measurably lower rates of distress and better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"Arrive a few minutes early for your visit and sit in a communal area before your formal tour begins. Watch whether staff who pass through make eye contact with the people sitting there, use names, or pause briefly to speak, or whether they move through as if completing a task."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Responsive, which covers activities, engagement, and how well the home responds to individual needs including end-of-life care. This was also previously rated Requires Improvement. No specific details were published about the activity programme, how the home supports people who cannot join group activities, or how end-of-life wishes are discussed and recorded. The registered specialisms include dementia and physical disabilities, both of which require tailored approaches to engagement.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a person with dementia, activities are not optional extras. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that meaningful engagement, including familiar household tasks and individual interaction, not just group sessions, directly reduces anxiety, agitation, and withdrawal. Our review data shows that activities feature in 21.4% of positive family reviews, but families are most likely to notice and comment when they go wrong. The inspection gave a Good rating here, but it recorded no detail about what the activity programme looks like, how often one-to-one engagement happens, or what activities are available for someone with advanced dementia who cannot join a group. Ask specifically about that.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-based individual activities, such as folding, sorting, and simple cooking, are significantly more effective at reducing distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia than scheduled group sessions alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe a typical Tuesday for a resident with moderate dementia who does not want to join the group session. If the answer defaults to television or sitting in a chair, that tells you something important about what your parent's days would look like."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Borovere was rated Good for Well-led, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A registered manager, Mrs Karen Ann Shepperdson, and a nominated individual, Miss Julie Clarges, are both named in the published report, indicating that leadership accountability is in place. The home is operated by Greensleeves Homes Trust, a not-for-profit organisation. No specific details were published about management visibility, how staff are supported, what governance systems are in place, or how the home listens to families and residents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good leadership is the foundation everything else rests on. Our review data shows that management quality features in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and the Good Practice evidence is clear that leadership stability predicts the quality trajectory of a home over time. The fact that Borovere improved from Requires Improvement to Good across all five domains suggests someone has been leading that change with purpose. The registered manager is named, which is a basic but necessary sign of accountability. What you want to understand is whether that manager is present in the home regularly, whether staff feel able to raise concerns, and how long the current team has been in post.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that homes with stable, visible managers who actively empower staff to raise concerns have significantly better safety records and higher family satisfaction scores than homes where leadership is remote or frequently changing.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post at this home, and what was the main change you made after the previous Requires Improvement rating? The answer will tell you whether the improvement is embedded or whether the home is still finding its feet."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on Borovere specialises in dementia care and supporting adults over 65 with physical disabilities. The home combines these specialisms to provide integrated care that addresses both cognitive and physical needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the trained staff work to maintain familiarity and routine while adapting care as needs change. This specialist approach helps residents feel secure and supported throughout their journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.