Samuel Hobson House

What families say

Families talk about the caring nature of the staff and how this translates into residents appearing content and settled. There's a sense that staff genuinely enjoy what they do, and this shows in their interactions with both residents and visitors.

Based on 9 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 2023-12-05 · Report published 2023-12-05 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its November 2023 inspection. The published findings do not include specific observations about staffing numbers, falls management, medicines handling, or infection control practices. A Good rating in this domain indicates inspectors did not identify significant concerns, but the detail behind that rating is not available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but our Good Practice evidence base highlights that safety risks in care homes most often emerge at night, when staffing is thinnest, and when agency staff who do not know your parent are covering shifts. The inspection gives no detail on either of those areas for Samuel Hobson House. With 39 beds and a speciality in dementia care, night staffing ratios matter greatly. Ask directly: how many staff are on duty overnight, and how often are those shifts covered by people your parent has never met before.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of poorer safety outcomes, because staff who do not know a person with dementia cannot reliably detect early signs of distress or deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many night shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency staff, and ask what the minimum number of staff on duty is overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at its November 2023 inspection. The published text does not include specific findings about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training content, or food and nutrition. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but the evidence behind it is not detailed in what has been published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home means that staff understand your parent as an individual, not just as a diagnosis. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans work best when they are treated as living documents, updated regularly with input from family members, and used to guide every interaction, not just kept in a file. Food quality is also a meaningful signal: 20.9% of positive family reviews across our dataset mention food specifically, often as a marker of whether staff genuinely care about the people they look after. The inspection gives no detail on either care plans or food at Samuel Hobson House, so these are your key questions.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF Research rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training, when it goes beyond basic awareness to cover non-verbal communication and person-centred approaches, measurably improves the quality of daily interactions between staff and people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months, who delivered it, and whether it covers non-verbal communication. Then ask to see an example care plan (anonymised if necessary) to see whether it records personal history, preferences, and what a good day looks like for that person."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at its November 2023 inspection. No specific observations about staff warmth, dignity, or resident interactions were included in the published text. Inspectors did not record concerns in this domain, but neither are there specific quotes or observations to point to.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: 57.3% of positive reviews across 3,602 families mention it by name, and compassion and dignity together account for a further 55.2%. These are things you can observe directly on a visit. Watch whether staff knock before entering a room, whether they use your parent's preferred name unprompted, and whether they seem unhurried even when the corridor is busy. The inspection gives no specific evidence on these points for Samuel Hobson House, so your own eyes on a visit are the most reliable source of information.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people living with dementia. A calm tone, unhurried movement, and physical proximity during personal care are more predictive of wellbeing than formal care plan records.","watch_out":"During your visit, find a moment when a staff member is helping a resident in a communal area and watch without intervening. Is the pace unhurried? Does the staff member make eye contact and speak directly to the resident? Does the resident appear comfortable? These observations will tell you more than any policy document."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at its November 2023 inspection. The published text does not include specific findings about the activities programme, individual engagement for people who cannot join group sessions, or how the home handles complaints and end-of-life planning. The Good rating suggests inspectors were satisfied, but no supporting detail is available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our dataset, and activities engagement accounts for 21.4%. For people living with dementia, the research is clear that meaningful activity is not a luxury: it reduces agitation, supports identity, and improves quality of life. Critically, the Good Practice evidence base shows that group activities alone are not enough. People with moderate or advanced dementia often cannot participate in a group and need one-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, music, or simple sensory activities. The inspection gives no detail on how Samuel Hobson House approaches this.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that Montessori-based and individual activity approaches, where activities are matched to a person's past roles, interests, and current abilities, produce significantly better outcomes than group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual activity records from the past two weeks, not the planned schedule. Look specifically for evidence of one-to-one engagement for residents who could not join group sessions. Ask who leads activities, whether that person is dedicated to the role or also covers care duties, and what happens on their day off."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at its November 2023 inspection. The inspection report names a registered manager (Mrs Sonia Michelle Windsor) and a nominated individual (Mrs Victoria Jane Smith), indicating a defined leadership structure. No further detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home handles feedback is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that homes where the registered manager is well-known to staff and residents, and where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, maintain quality more consistently than those where leadership is distant or frequently changing. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive reviews in our dataset: families value being contacted promptly when something changes, not only at scheduled review meetings. The inspection confirms a leadership structure exists at Samuel Hobson House but gives no detail on how it functions day to day.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF Research review found that leadership stability, specifically how long the registered manager has been in post and whether staff describe them as present and approachable, is one of the most reliable predictors of whether a care home maintains its quality rating over time.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long she has been in post and whether she works across the whole week or primarily on weekdays. Then ask staff members you encounter during a visit (not during a formal tour) whether they feel comfortable raising a concern and what would happen if they did."}

  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 Samuel Hobson House provides care for people over 65, including those living with dementia or physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home welcomes residents with dementia, with staff who understand the importance of creating a calm, supportive environment for those who need this specialist care. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.