Malden House Care Home – Hartford Care

What families say

Families describe finding a warm, welcoming environment when they visit. Even professionals who come to the home — from ambulance crews to podiatrists — mention how well-organised everything feels and how quickly staff respond when help is needed.

Based on 14 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth85
• Compassion & dignity87
• Cleanliness75
• Activities & engagement80
• Food quality72
• Healthcare82
• Management & leadership88
• Resident happiness80

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-05-23 · Report published 2018-05-23 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2018 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied that people living at Malden House were protected from harm, that medicines were managed appropriately, and that staffing was adequate. A Good rating in Safe, alongside Outstanding ratings elsewhere, is a common pattern in high-performing care homes and does not indicate a concern. The published summary does not include specific detail on night staffing numbers, falls management, or agency staff use.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means the inspection found no significant gaps in how the home keeps people safe. For families of someone living with dementia, the practical questions that matter most are rarely answered by a rating alone. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that safety most often slips on night shifts and in homes that rely heavily on agency staff, because consistency of face-to-face care matters enormously for people who may be disoriented in the dark. The published report does not give you the night staffing numbers, so you need to ask directly. A home rated Outstanding for leadership is more likely to have robust incident-reporting and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns, which is a positive indirect indicator of safety.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most consistent predictors of safety incidents in care homes, because familiarity with individual residents is a protective factor, particularly overnight.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many staff are on duty overnight for the 29 beds, and what is your policy on agency use? Request to see last month's night-shift rotas and count the ratio of permanent to agency names."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Outstanding, the highest possible rating. This covers training, care planning, healthcare access, nutrition, and how well staff translate knowledge into practice. An Outstanding rating in this domain requires inspectors to find that staff have skills that go beyond basic competence, that care plans are detailed and regularly reviewed, and that the home works proactively with GPs and other health professionals. The published summary does not include specific examples of training content, care plan formats, or GP visiting arrangements.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, an Outstanding Effective rating is one of the most meaningful signals in an inspection report. It means inspectors found that what the home says it does and what it actually does are closely aligned. In our family review data, healthcare responsiveness accounts for 20.2% of what families rate positively, and food quality for 20.9%. The inspection does not give us specific detail on meals or GP access at Malden House, so these are worth exploring directly. Good Practice evidence shows that care plans work best when they are treated as living documents updated with the family after any significant change in health or behaviour, so ask how often yours would be reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that care homes rated Outstanding for effectiveness consistently demonstrate that care plans are updated in response to real changes in a person's condition, rather than on a fixed annual cycle, and that families are actively included in review conversations.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (with personal details removed) and ask specifically: how often are plans reviewed, who initiates the review, and how would you contact me if my parent's needs changed between scheduled reviews?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Outstanding. This is the domain that most directly captures the warmth, dignity, and respect shown by staff in day-to-day interactions. An Outstanding rating here requires inspectors to observe specific examples of staff treating people as individuals, using preferred names, moving without hurry, and responding to distress with skill and compassion. The Caring domain is weighted most heavily in our family review data, with staff warmth cited in 57.3% of positive reviews and compassion in 55.2%.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"If there is one rating that will matter most to you when you imagine your parent settling into this home, it is this one. An Outstanding Caring rating is not awarded on the basis of paperwork. Inspectors have to see it. Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in more than half of all positive reviews across 3,602 families. The absence of verbatim quotes in the published summary means we cannot show you the specific moments inspectors recorded, but the rating itself is a strong signal. On your visit, watch how staff in the corridor respond to a resident who seems unsettled, whether they slow down, make eye contact, and use the person's name. That interaction, more than any document, will tell you whether Outstanding Caring is real on a Tuesday afternoon.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, including pace, eye contact, and physical proximity, is as important as spoken words for people living with dementia, and that Outstanding Caring ratings are consistently associated with staff who adjust their approach to the individual rather than applying a single communication style.","watch_out":"During your visit, find a moment to watch a staff member supporting someone who appears anxious or confused. Do they stop, crouch to eye level, speak quietly, and stay until the person is settled? Or do they redirect and move on quickly? That tells you more than any rating."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Outstanding. This domain covers how well the home tailors its offer to individual people: activities, engagement, response to changing needs, and end-of-life care. An Outstanding rating requires inspectors to find that activities are meaningful and varied, that people who cannot join groups still receive individual engagement, and that the home responds promptly when someone's needs change. No specific activity programmes, individual care examples, or end-of-life arrangements are described in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness for 27.1%. An Outstanding Responsive rating suggests inspectors found that people at Malden House are not simply cared for but actually have a life here. For families of someone living with dementia, the most important question the published report cannot answer is what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot join a group activity. Good Practice research consistently shows that one-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, music, or simple sensory activities, has a measurable positive effect on wellbeing for people with advanced dementia. Ask the home specifically what that looks like in practice.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes rated Outstanding for responsiveness are significantly more likely to offer structured one-to-one engagement for residents with advanced dementia, rather than relying solely on group activities, and that Montessori-based approaches and familiar everyday tasks are among the most effective individual engagement tools.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: what would a typical Tuesday look like for my parent if they were having a difficult day and could not join the group session? Ask to see the activity records for one resident from the previous month to check whether one-to-one sessions are actually logged."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"The Well-Led domain was rated Outstanding. A named registered manager, Mrs Suzanne Denise Gatrell, is recorded, and the home is run by Hartford Care (Southern) Limited. An Outstanding Well-Led rating requires inspectors to find a visible, stable management culture in which staff feel supported, governance systems are robust, learning from incidents is genuine, and the home has a clear direction. The published summary does not include information on how long the registered manager has been in post or recent staffing changes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is cited positively in 23.4% of family reviews in our data, and our Good Practice evidence base shows that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality over time. A home rated Outstanding for leadership is more likely to have a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns, where problems are fixed rather than hidden, and where families receive honest communication. The key uncertainty for you is whether the management in place in February 2018 is still in place now. Manager changes are one of the most common reasons a home's quality trajectory shifts, and this inspection is over six years old. Confirming who the current registered manager is and how long they have been in post is the single most important question you can ask before arranging a visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that manager tenure is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes, with homes experiencing frequent management changes significantly more likely to see declines in staff morale, care consistency, and inspection ratings.","watch_out":"Before your visit, call the home and ask: is Mrs Gatrell still the registered manager, and if not, when did the current manager take over and are they registered with the Care Quality Commission? A new manager in post for less than a year is worth exploring further during your visit."}

  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 Malden House cares for adults both under and over 65, with particular experience supporting people living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home's approach to dementia care focuses on maintaining routines and respecting individual preferences. Staff understand the importance of familiar patterns, like that perfectly-timed morning tea. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.