Westbourne Care Home

What families say

Families describe staff who build genuine connections with residents, staying attentive to their day-to-day needs. The atmosphere feels welcoming, with staff taking time to know each person individually.

Based on 8 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 2019-02-28 · Report published 2019-02-28 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its January 2019 inspection. Beyond that rating, the published report does not include specific observations about staffing levels, medicines management, falls recording, infection control practice, or how the home responds to and learns from incidents. A monitoring review in July 2023 found nothing to suggest the safety rating should change, but no new on-site assessment has taken place since 2019.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is the minimum you should expect for your parent, but the age of this inspection means you cannot rely on it alone. Good Practice research consistently finds that night staffing is where safety problems are most likely to emerge in care homes, and that high agency staff use undermines the consistency your parent needs, especially if they are living with dementia. Because the inspection text provides no specific safety data, you will need to gather this yourself. Ask to see last week's actual staffing rota, not a template, and count the number of permanent staff listed on night shifts.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, March 2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as two of the strongest predictors of safety problems in care homes. Neither is addressed in the available published findings for this home.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks. Count permanent versus agency names on night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of staff on duty overnight is for 36 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at its January 2019 inspection. The published text does not include specific detail about care plan quality, GP access arrangements, dementia training content, food provision, or how the home monitors and responds to changes in residents' health. The declared dementia specialism is noted in the registration record but is not described in the inspection findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a care home means that staff know your parent as an individual, that their care plan is updated when things change, and that health problems are spotted and acted on quickly. The Good Practice evidence base highlights care plans as living documents that should be reviewed regularly with family involvement, not filed away after admission. Because none of this detail is available in the published findings, you will need to ask the home directly. Find out how often care plans are reviewed, whether you would be invited to those reviews, and what the process is for contacting you if your parent's health changes overnight.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that dementia-specific staff training, including understanding of non-verbal communication and person-centred approaches, is a consistent predictor of better outcomes for people living with dementia. Ask the home what training all staff, including kitchen and housekeeping staff, have completed.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to describe a specific example of a time a resident's care plan was changed in response to a change in their health or behaviour. If they can give you a concrete example, that is a good sign. If the answer is vague, probe further."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at its January 2019 inspection. The published text includes no inspector observations of staff interactions, no resident or relative quotes about how staff treat people, and no detail about how dignity and privacy are maintained day to day. The Good rating stands but is unsupported by specific evidence in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, appearing in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. These are the things families notice first and remember most. Because the inspection provides no specific evidence here, you must observe these things yourself during a visit. Watch how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal areas. Do they make eye contact? Do they use preferred names? Do they move at the resident's pace, not their own? These small behaviours are reliable signals of the culture in a home.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people living with dementia, and that person-centred care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style. Ask what information the home holds about your parent's life before they came to live there.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch what happens when a member of staff passes a resident in a corridor or communal room. Do they acknowledge the person, use their name, and pause? Or do they walk past without interaction? This is one of the most reliable indicators of the everyday culture in a home."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at its January 2019 inspection. The published text contains no specific detail about the activities programme, how the home supports individual interests and preferences, what happens for residents who cannot join group activities, or how the home manages end-of-life care. The home is registered with a dementia specialism but no dementia-specific responsive practice is described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness features in 27.1% of positive family reviews and activities in 21.4%, which reflects how important a meaningful daily life is to families choosing a home. Good Practice research is clear that tailored individual activities, not just group sessions, are essential for people living with dementia, particularly those in more advanced stages who may not be able to participate in group settings. Because none of this is evidenced in the published findings, visit on a weekday morning when activities are most likely to be running, and ask to see the actual schedule rather than a brochure version.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (March 2026) found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks, such as folding laundry or tending plants, can provide meaningful engagement for people with dementia who are no longer able to follow structured group activities. Ask whether the home uses any of these approaches.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator, not the manager, what one-to-one activity your parent might do on a day when they cannot engage with a group session. A specific, individualised answer is reassuring. A generic answer about television or music suggests limited capacity for individual engagement."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for leadership at its January 2019 inspection and is run by Westbourne Care Limited, with a nominated individual named in the registration. The published text contains no specific observations about the management culture, staff morale, how concerns are handled, or whether the manager is visible and known to residents and staff. The monitoring review of July 2023 found no evidence of deterioration in the rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management leadership accounts for 23.4% of family satisfaction in our review data, and Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality over time. A home where the manager has been in post for several years, knows residents by name, and is seen on the floor rather than behind a desk is a meaningfully different place from one where managers change frequently. Because the published findings tell you nothing specific about leadership here, ask directly: how long has the current manager been in post, and what was the most recent change made to improve care based on a concern raised by a family member?","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (March 2026) identifies leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear as two of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Staff turnover and manager tenure are not reported in the published findings for this home.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in their current role and whether the home has had any significant staffing changes in the past 12 months. Also ask whether there is a regular meeting where families can raise concerns and receive a response. These questions will tell you a great deal about the culture of the home."}

  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 younger adults under 65 alongside older residents, creating a mixed community. Their dementia care services support people at various stages of their journey.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff work to maintain connections and dignity for residents living with dementia. The team adapts their approach to meet individual needs as conditions change over time. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.