Jacobs Neurological Centre | Elysium Healthcare

What families say

Based on 6 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare72
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-12-21 · Report published 2023-12-21 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at the November 2024 inspection, a change from the previous inspection period when concerns had contributed to a Requires Improvement overall rating. The published report does not include specific detail about what was found during this assessment. The home is registered to provide nursing care, which means qualified nurses should be on duty, though the report does not specify shift patterns or ratios. No specific information about falls management, medicines administration, or safeguarding incidents is available in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A return to Good for safety is encouraging, particularly after a period of concern. For a 52-bed nursing home specialising in dementia and neurological conditions, safety depends heavily on consistent staffing, especially at night when the team is smaller. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety most often slips in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency that keeps people safe. Because the published findings do not specify staffing numbers or agency use, these are the questions most worth asking before you make a decision.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two variables most strongly associated with safety incidents in care home settings. A Good safety rating does not guarantee adequate night cover; ask for the actual rota.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual night-shift rota for the dementia and neurological unit, not a staffing template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask what the minimum number of staff on duty overnight is for 52 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at the November 2024 inspection. The available published report does not describe specific findings about care planning, training, healthcare access, or food quality. The home's registration confirms it provides treatment of disease, disorder, or injury alongside personal care, suggesting clinical oversight is built into the model. However, the absence of specific inspection detail means it is not possible to verify from published sources how care plans are written, how often they are reviewed, or what dementia training staff have completed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home specialising in dementia and neurological conditions, effectiveness means more than a Good rating on paper. It means your parent's care plan should reflect who they are as a person, not just their diagnosis. Good Practice evidence from 61 studies confirms that care plans function as living documents when reviewed regularly with family involvement, and that dementia-specific training directly affects the quality of daily interactions. Because none of this detail appears in the published findings, food quality and care plan practice are the two areas most worth probing directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base confirms that regular GP access, timely medication reviews, and care plans that capture personal history and preferences are independently associated with better outcomes for people with dementia. Homes rated Good for effectiveness do not always demonstrate all three equally well.","watch_out":"Ask to see a blank copy of the care plan template used for residents with dementia, and ask how often plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to those reviews. Then ask what dementia training the permanent care staff have completed in the past 12 months and who delivered it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at the November 2024 inspection. The published report does not include specific observations of staff interactions, resident testimony, or examples of how dignity and privacy are maintained. For a home caring for people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, caring practice encompasses how staff address residents, how they respond to non-verbal communication, and whether care is given at the person's pace rather than the rota's pace. None of this detail is available in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family reviews in our data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive responses, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are the things families feel most keenly and remember longest. For people with advanced dementia or neurological conditions who may not be able to speak for themselves, warm and attuned staff are not a bonus but a clinical necessity. Because there are no specific observations in the published findings, you will need to assess this yourself on a visit by watching how staff move through the home and how they speak to your parent during a trial period.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication, including tone, pace, and physical proximity, matters as much as spoken words for people with advanced dementia. Staff who have been trained in person-led approaches are observable: they slow down, make eye contact, and follow the resident's lead rather than directing the interaction.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit quietly in a communal area for 20 minutes and watch how staff approach residents who are not speaking or are showing signs of distress. Do staff crouch down to eye level, use the person's preferred name, and wait for a response? Or do they move briskly from task to task?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at the November 2024 inspection. The published report does not describe the activities programme, individual care arrangements, or how the home adapts to the varying needs of people with dementia, neurological conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments. For a home serving this range of complex needs, responsiveness should include one-to-one engagement for people who cannot participate in group activities, meaningful occupation drawing on personal histories, and clear processes for responding to changing health needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities and engagement account for 21.4%. For people with dementia or neurological conditions, meaningful activity is not entertainment but a genuine health intervention. Good Practice research shows that tailored individual activities, including everyday tasks like folding, gardening, or handling familiar objects, reduce agitation and improve wellbeing more reliably than group sessions alone. Because none of this is described in the published findings, the activities programme is one of the most important things to investigate before placing your parent here.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base, drawing on 61 studies, identifies Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches as among the most effective interventions for people with dementia, particularly those who cannot initiate or sustain group participation. Ask whether the home has a dedicated activity coordinator and how that person works with people who have limited mobility or communication.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for the past two weeks, not just the planned programme. Check whether there are entries for one-to-one sessions, and ask how the team engages a resident who is bed-bound or unable to join a group on a typical afternoon."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at the November 2024 inspection, recovering from a period in which overall performance had declined to Requires Improvement. A Registered Manager, Miss Laura Anne Chapman, and a Nominated Individual, Ms Sheetal Shah, are named in the registration record. The published report does not describe the manager's tenure, visibility, or the specific governance changes that brought about the improvement. The home is operated by Elysium Healthcare No.2 Limited, a larger provider group, which brings both resource and the risk of centralised decision-making that can distance management from day-to-day care.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and communication with family accounts for 11.5%. Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability is the single strongest predictor of quality trajectory in a care home: homes with a consistent registered manager in post tend to hold and improve their ratings, while homes with frequent management turnover often decline. The recovery from Requires Improvement is a positive sign, but it raises one key question: how long has the current manager been in post, and what specifically changed? Communication with families (23.4% of our review data) is also not addressed in the published findings and should be explored directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear as the two most reliable markers of sustained quality. Ask how long the current registered manager has been in this role and whether staff turnover has stabilised since the previous inspection.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly: how long have you been in post at this home, what did the Requires Improvement inspection identify as the main problems, and what specific changes did you make? Then ask how families are kept informed if their parent's health or behaviour changes between scheduled reviews."}

  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 team here has experience caring for people with complex neurological conditions, including those with sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They support both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on The centre also provides care for people living with dementia alongside neurological conditions, offering specialist support for these complex needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.