The Elms Care Home

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 warmth72
• Compassion & dignity74
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement85
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness75

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-10 · Report published 2019-05-10 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Safe was rated Good at the April 2019 inspection. This means inspectors assessed medicines management, staffing levels, infection control, and safeguarding procedures and found them satisfactory. The published summary does not specify night staffing ratios or record detail on agency use. The home has 22 beds, which is a small unit, and small homes can find it harder to absorb staff absences without using agency cover. No concerns about safety were recorded.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is the baseline you need, and the home achieved it. However, the inspection data available does not tell you what happens at night, which is where safety problems most commonly emerge according to the Good Practice evidence base. Night staffing is where care quality often slips, particularly in homes caring for people with dementia who may become distressed or fall after dark. Because this inspection is now more than five years old, you cannot rely on it as a current picture. The cleanliness score here is moderate because no specific observations about hygiene or infection control are recorded in the available text.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies night staffing ratios and reliance on agency staff as two of the strongest predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care. Neither is addressed in the published findings for The Elms.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template rota. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency names, and specifically ask how many carers are on duty overnight for 22 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors will have looked at whether staff training matches the needs of the people who live there. The published summary does not describe the content of dementia training, how often GPs visit, or how food and hydration are monitored. No concerns were recorded under this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you the basics are in place, but it does not tell you whether your mum or dad's care plan is a living document that the team actually reads and updates, or a file that sits in a cabinet. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans only improve outcomes when staff refer to them daily and when families are involved in reviewing them. Food quality is one of the most telling indicators of genuine care in our review data, mentioned positively in 20.9% of family reviews, yet the inspection text provides no specific detail on menus, choice, or dietary support. Ask to see a sample care plan and a week's menu on your visit.","evidence_base":"Research across 61 studies in the Good Practice evidence base consistently finds that dementia training quality varies enormously between homes, even those holding the same rating. Ask what specific dementia training staff have completed and when they last refreshed it.","watch_out":"Ask to see a current care plan for a resident with dementia (with names removed). Check whether it describes the person's life history, preferred routines, communication style, and food preferences, or whether it reads as a clinical checklist."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good. This domain covers how staff treat the people who live there, including dignity, respect, privacy, and whether residents are encouraged to make their own choices. No specific inspector observations or resident quotes are reproduced in the published summary available for this report. A Good rating in this domain requires inspectors to have observed interactions and spoken to residents and families during the visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of satisfaction in our family review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. A Good Caring rating is encouraging, but the absence of specific observations in the published text means you cannot rely on this report alone. The most reliable way to assess warmth is to arrive unannounced or at a less expected time, such as mid-morning or just after lunch, and notice whether staff acknowledge your parent by name, whether they crouch to eye level when speaking, and whether they move without hurry.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication, including eye contact, touch, and unhurried pace, matters as much as spoken words for people with advanced dementia who may have limited language. These are not things an inspection report can fully capture; they require a personal visit.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff move through the communal areas. Do they acknowledge residents as they pass, or walk through the room without interaction? Ask a staff member what your parent's preferred name is and notice whether they answer without hesitation."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Outstanding, the highest possible rating, at the April 2019 inspection. This is the strongest finding in the report and covers how well the home tailors its approach to individual needs, including activities, engagement, and planning for end of life. An Outstanding rating requires specific, compelling evidence rather than general compliance. The published summary does not reproduce the detail inspectors found, but the rating itself is significant. The home also held Good ratings in all other domains at the same inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An Outstanding Responsive rating is rare and meaningful. In our review data, activities and engagement are mentioned positively in 21.4% of family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. A home that earns Outstanding here has demonstrated to inspectors that it goes beyond a standard activity programme and tailors engagement to individuals. For someone with dementia, that might mean one-to-one sessions, involvement in everyday tasks, or activities linked to their working life or hobbies. The key question is whether this standard has been maintained since 2019, given the inspection is now more than five years old.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies Montessori-based approaches and involvement in everyday household tasks as particularly effective for people with dementia, producing measurable reductions in distress and withdrawal. An Outstanding Responsive rating suggests the home was at least partly meeting this standard in 2019.","watch_out":"Ask specifically what is offered to a resident who is bed-bound, very withdrawn, or in late-stage dementia and cannot join a group activity. A genuinely Outstanding approach will have a named answer, not a general one."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good. The published record names two registered managers: Mrs Sehnaz Bi Butt and Mr Alexander Louis. Mrs Butt is also listed as the nominated individual, indicating she holds ultimate responsibility for the service. The home improved from a previous Requires Improvement rating to Good across all domains, with Outstanding in Responsive, which suggests active leadership engagement between inspections. No concerns about governance or culture are recorded.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in residential care, according to the Good Practice evidence base. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good, with an Outstanding in one domain, indicates that someone in this home was paying attention and driving change. However, the inspection is now more than five years old and a great deal can change: managers move on, staff teams turn over, and occupancy pressures affect culture. Communication with families is mentioned positively in 11.5% of our review data, yet the inspection text provides no detail on how The Elms keeps families informed. Ask directly how you would be contacted if your parent's condition changed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base finds that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear of reprisal consistently outperform those with a more hierarchical culture, regardless of the headline rating. Ask the manager how staff can raise a concern, and see whether the answer is specific or vague.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether the management team has changed significantly since 2019. A home that has had two or more managers in that period deserves closer scrutiny on your visit."}

  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 The home specialises in dementia care and supporting residents with mental health conditions. They focus specifically on caring for adults over 65, bringing relevant experience to meet the complex needs that can arise with age.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team at The Elms understands the unique challenges of dementia. They work to create an environment where residents feel secure and supported as their needs change. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.