Nightingale House

What families say

The team here seems to understand what really matters. When residents have been through their final days, families have noticed how staff focus on keeping their loved ones comfortable and maintaining their dignity right to the end.

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 & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-11-30 · Report published 2022-11-30 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The safe domain was rated Good at the October 2022 inspection, up from Requires Improvement previously. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home manages risks. The published summary does not include specific detail on staffing ratios, night cover, falls management, or agency use. The improvement from the previous rating suggests that the issues identified earlier were addressed, though no specifics are given on what changed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, a Good for safe means inspectors were satisfied with the basics: enough staff on duty, medicines handled correctly, and risks managed. However, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that safety can slip at night when staffing is thinner and when agency workers who do not know your parent are on shift. Because this inspection did not publish staffing ratios or agency usage figures, you cannot rely on the rating alone. Our family review data shows that attentiveness of staff, referenced in 14% of positive reviews by name, is one of the most concrete things families notice on a visit. Ask to see the rota.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels and agency staff reliance are two of the most consistent predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care. A Good rating during the day does not guarantee adequate cover at night.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual paper or electronic rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by agency staff, and ask specifically how many carers are on duty overnight for the 21 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The effective domain was rated Good, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, nutrition, and how well staff understand the needs of people with dementia. The published report does not describe specific training programmes, dementia qualification levels, GP visiting arrangements, or how care plans are structured. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies some level of tailored provision, but the inspection text does not confirm what that looks like in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, effectiveness means that staff know enough about dementia to read the signals your parent cannot always put into words, and that their care plan is a living document that changes as their needs change. Healthcare access is referenced positively by families in 20.2% of our review data. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that dementia training quality varies significantly between homes even where a specialism is listed. A Good rating here is encouraging, but you should ask the manager what specific dementia training staff have completed, when it was last updated, and how often your parent's care plan would be formally reviewed with you present.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review identified that care plans used as living documents, updated regularly and with family input, are strongly associated with better outcomes for people with dementia. Homes that treat care plans as administrative documents rather than active tools tend to miss deterioration earlier.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to walk you through how a new resident's care plan is built, how often it is formally reviewed, and whether families are invited to those reviews. Then ask to see a blank template so you can judge whether it captures personality, preferences, and communication needs, not just medical history."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The caring domain was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, privacy, and how staff treat residents as individuals. This is the domain families most consistently cite in positive reviews, with 57.3% of positive family reviews mentioning staff warmth and 55.2% mentioning compassion and dignity by name. The published inspection text does not include specific observations of staff interactions, preferred name use, or examples of dignity being upheld. No quotes from residents or relatives are recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, appearing in more than half of all positive reviews. A Good for caring is the most meaningful rating for most families, but without specific inspector observations or resident quotes, it is hard to know what that Good is based on. When you visit, watch how staff move through the shared areas: are they hurried or unhurried? Do they stop to talk? Do they use names? Non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal for people with advanced dementia, and the Good Practice evidence base confirms that tone of voice and physical approach are the primary communication channels for many residents.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual, including their history, preferences, and communication style, not just their diagnosis. Homes where staff demonstrate this knowledge in unscripted moments, not just in care plans, consistently score better on wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"On your visit, ask a staff member what your parent's preferred name is and how they like to spend their morning. If staff can answer without checking a file, that is a good sign. If they look blank or reach for a folder, that tells you something important about how well individuals are actually known."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The responsive domain was rated Good, covering activities, individual engagement, complaints handling, and how well the home adapts to changing needs. The published summary does not describe specific activities offered, how the programme is tailored to individuals, or how the home supports people who cannot participate in group sessions. One-to-one engagement for people with more advanced dementia is not referenced in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, a responsive home means their day has shape and meaning, not just personal care and meals. Activities appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, with families specifically valuing tailored and varied programmes over generic group sessions. The Good Practice evidence base points to Montessori-based individual activities and familiar household tasks as particularly effective for people with dementia who can no longer join group settings. Because the published report gives no detail on the activity programme at Nightingale House, ask to see last week's actual activity sheet, not a prospectus, and ask specifically what happens for a resident who prefers to be on their own.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that individual, tailored activities, including familiar domestic tasks such as folding, sorting, or gardening, produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group-only programmes. Homes that rely solely on group activities effectively exclude residents with more advanced needs.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity records from the last two weeks, not the planned schedule but the actual record of what happened and who attended. Then ask: what would my parent do on a Tuesday afternoon if they did not want to join the group?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The well-led domain was rated Good, and the home has improved from a previous Requires Improvement rating across all domains. A named registered manager, Miss Theresa Maria Rivera, and a nominated individual, Mrs Sushma Nayar, are recorded. The fact that the home has improved from a previous lower rating suggests the management team was able to identify problems and make sustained changes. The published text does not describe management visibility, staff culture, how concerns are handled, or the length of time the current manager has been in post.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence base. A manager who knows the staff and is known by residents creates consistency. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is a positive signal, but it also means the home has had a period of difficulty in the past. Management is referenced positively in 23.4% of family reviews, and families consistently value a manager who can be reached directly and responds promptly. Ask how long the current manager has been in post and whether they are on site most days.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review identified leadership stability as one of the most reliable predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years and is visible to staff on the floor consistently outperform those with high management turnover.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in their current role, and ask what the main changes were that led to the improvement from the previous rating. A manager who can answer this clearly and specifically is demonstrating the kind of reflective practice the Good Practice evidence associates with better outcomes."}

  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 welcomes residents over 65 who need support with physical disabilities or sensory impairments. They also provide specialist dementia care.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the team understands the importance of creating a supportive environment. The home has experience caring for residents at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.