Liberty House Care Home | Runwood Homes Senior Living

What families say

Families describe a genuinely welcoming atmosphere when they visit. Staff appear friendly towards both residents and their visitors, helping everyone feel comfortable. People mention seeing their loved ones looking happy and settled, which is often the best sign that someone has found the right place.

Based on 13 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership73
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-10-14 · Report published 2023-10-14 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. No specific concerns were identified. The published findings do not include detail about staffing ratios, night cover arrangements, or how the home logs and learns from falls or other incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety means inspectors were satisfied that your parent would not be placed at unacceptable risk. However, the Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, March 2026) consistently highlights that safety risks are highest at night and that agency reliance undermines continuity of care. Neither of those issues is addressed in the published findings for Liberty House. With 81 beds and a dementia specialism, the night staffing picture matters enormously. You should establish those numbers before making a decision.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that night staffing is the point at which safety most commonly slips in care homes, and that homes relying heavily on agency staff struggle to maintain the consistent, relationship-based care that keeps people with dementia safe.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template. Count the names on the night shifts and ask how many are permanent staff rather than agency or bank workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, healthcare access, nutrition, and hydration. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies trained staff and adapted care approaches. No specific detail about training content, GP access arrangements, or food quality is recorded in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for effectiveness is a reasonable baseline when choosing a home for a parent living with dementia. The Good Practice evidence base emphasises that care plans should function as living documents, reviewed regularly and updated with family input, rather than as administrative paperwork completed on admission and rarely revisited. The published inspection findings do not tell you how often Liberty House reviews care plans or whether families are routinely invited to contribute. Our review data shows that 20.2% of positive family reviews specifically mention healthcare access as a reason for satisfaction, so this is worth probing directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training significantly improves the quality of staff interactions and reduces the use of antipsychotic medication, but only when training is ongoing and reflective rather than a one-off induction module.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often your parent's care plan would be reviewed after admission, who attends those reviews, and whether you would be invited to contribute. Then ask what dementia-specific training staff complete and when it was last updated."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain reflects how staff treat residents, covering warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with what they observed, but the published findings include no direct quotes from residents or relatives and no specific descriptions of staff interactions.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of satisfaction in our family review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are the things families feel most acutely and remember longest. The difficulty here is that the published inspection findings give you a rating without the texture behind it. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that non-verbal communication, unhurried pace, and use of a person's preferred name are the observable markers of genuinely person-led care. You can check all three on a single visit without asking a single question.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people living with dementia, and that staff who know individual residents' histories, preferences, and life stories produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff greet residents they pass in corridors. Do they use names? Do they crouch or sit to make eye contact? Do they stop, or do they walk past? These unscripted moments tell you more than a tour of the building."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, response to complaints, and end-of-life care. The home's specialism in dementia suggests some structured approach to meaningful activity, but the published findings do not describe the activity programme, how one-to-one engagement is provided, or how the home responds to complaints.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness, which is closely tied to how engaged people feel day to day, is a theme in 27.1% of reviews. For a parent living with dementia, the question is not just whether group activities exist but whether staff provide individual engagement for someone who can no longer join a group. The Good Practice evidence base highlights Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks as particularly effective for people with moderate to advanced dementia. The published findings do not tell you whether Liberty House uses any of these approaches.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that tailored one-to-one activities, including familiar domestic tasks such as folding, sorting, and simple food preparation, produce better wellbeing outcomes for people with advanced dementia than group-only programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator, not the manager, to describe what would happen on a typical afternoon for a resident who cannot participate in group sessions. Listen for specific examples rather than general reassurances."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Tracey Jane Reynolds, is in post, and a nominated individual, Dr Gavin O'Hare-Connolly, provides organisational oversight. The home is run by Runwood Homes Limited. The published findings do not describe the manager's tenure, the culture within the staff team, or specific examples of governance or quality improvement activity.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence base. A consistent, visible manager who staff know and trust creates the conditions for good care to be sustained, not just demonstrated during an inspection. Communication with families is cited in 11.5% of positive reviews as a key factor in confidence. The published findings confirm a management structure is in place but do not tell you how long the registered manager has been in post, how staff feel about raising concerns, or how the home communicates with families when something changes. These are worth establishing directly.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to speak up without fear are the strongest structural predictors of sustained care quality in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long she has been in post at Liberty House, and ask how families are notified when there is a change in their parent's health or wellbeing. A home with good leadership will have a clear, routine answer to the second question."}

  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 Liberty House cares for adults under 65, those over 65, and people living with dementia. This range means they're set up to support different age groups and care needs within the same community.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the home provides specialist support as part of their regular care approach. The consistent communication that families appreciate can be particularly valuable when someone with dementia can't always express their own needs clearly. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.