Summerdyne

What families say

Based on 7 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 2019-03-29 · Report published 2019-03-29 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This rating covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home manages risk. The published report does not include specific inspector observations, staff ratios, or detail about falls recording or medication audits. A review in July 2023 found no new concerns about safety.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but the inspection findings give you little to go on beyond the rating itself. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that safety problems in care homes most commonly emerge on night shifts, where staffing ratios are typically lower. For a 29-bed nursing home with a dementia specialism, you should ask specifically how many registered nurses are on duty overnight, not just how many carers. Agency staff reliance is another marker worth checking: consistent, familiar faces matter enormously to people with dementia, who can become distressed when cared for by strangers.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are the point at which safety most commonly deteriorates in care homes, and that high agency reliance undermines the consistency of care that people with dementia particularly need.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not the template. Count how many shifts, especially overnight, were covered by agency staff rather than permanent employees."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home specialises in dementia care for people over 65, which means dementia-specific training and regular GP access are particularly important. The published report provides no specific detail about training completion rates, care plan content, or food quality.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality is mentioned in 20.9% of the positive family reviews in our data, making it one of the more reliable indicators of genuine care standards. It is also one of the easiest things to assess on a visit: arrive around lunchtime and observe whether meals look appetising, whether staff sit with residents who need support to eat, and whether there is real choice. On dementia-specific training, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that training quality varies enormously between homes even where a specialism is declared. Ask what specific dementia training staff receive and when they last completed it.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents, reviewed frequently with family input, rather than administrative records completed at admission and rarely updated. Homes that involve families in care plan reviews tend to produce more accurate, person-centred plans.","watch_out":"Ask to see an anonymised example of a care plan, or ask how your parent's care plan would be created and how often it would be reviewed. Ask whether families are invited to take part in reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well the home supports residents' independence. The published report includes no specific inspector observations of staff interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no examples of how dignity is maintained 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, with compassion and dignity close behind at 55.2%. These are also the things that are hardest to assess from a report and easiest to observe in person. On a visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted, whether interactions feel unhurried, and whether staff make eye contact and speak directly to the person with dementia rather than only to you. These small behaviours are the most reliable indicators of a genuinely caring culture.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal in dementia care. Staff who make eye contact, use calm touch, and adjust their pace to the individual produce measurably better outcomes for people with dementia, even in advanced stages.","watch_out":"On your visit, spend time in a communal area and observe a corridor interaction between a staff member and a resident. Does the staff member stop, make eye contact, and use the resident's name? Or does the interaction feel transactional and hurried? This is more revealing than anything you will be told in a formal meeting."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors care to individual needs, the range and quality of activities, and end-of-life care planning. The published report provides no specific detail about the activities programme, individual engagement for people with advanced dementia, or how end-of-life wishes are recorded and honoured.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness is a theme in 27.1%. For people with dementia, the Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient. People in more advanced stages of dementia often cannot participate in groups and need one-to-one engagement, which is more resource-intensive and therefore more telling about a home's genuine commitment. Ask specifically what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or choose not to join a group activity.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks (folding, gardening, simple cooking) provide meaningful engagement for people with dementia at all stages, and that homes relying solely on scheduled group activities often leave the most vulnerable residents with little stimulation.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe a typical Tuesday for a resident with moderate to advanced dementia who does not want to join a group session. The answer will tell you whether one-to-one engagement is genuinely planned or left to chance."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. A registered manager (Mrs Paula Lees) and nominated individual (Mr Simon Patient) are named in the registration details, indicating a defined leadership structure. The published report provides no specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home responds to complaints and incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality appears in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families is a theme in 11.5%. The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. A manager who has been in post for several years, who staff and residents know by name, and who is visible on the floor rather than confined to an office, is a very different proposition from a recently appointed or frequently changing manager. The inspection was carried out in 2021, so it is worth asking directly how long the current manager has been in post and whether there have been significant staffing changes since then.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality. Homes where managers stay in post and empower staff to raise concerns consistently outperform those with frequent leadership turnover, even where headline ratings are similar.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post at this home, and whether the registered manager named in the 2021 inspection is still in place. Then ask how families are kept informed when something goes wrong with their parent's care."}

  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 specialises in caring for adults over 65, with trained staff who understand the complexities of dementia care. They provide the round-the-clock nursing support that gives families reassurance during difficult times.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialised care tailored to individual needs. The nursing team works to maintain dignity and quality of life through each stage of the condition. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.