Priory Care Residential Home

What families say

People visiting the home consistently mention the friendly nature of staff members. Families have observed carers playing games with residents and taking time to chat during the day. The atmosphere feels relaxed, with staff appearing genuinely engaged with the people they support.

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2017-10-31 · Report published 2017-10-31 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection, an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home prevents and responds to harm. The published summary does not include specific detail on staffing ratios, night cover, or agency use. No concerns were raised about safety in the available findings. The improvement from the previous rating suggests that whatever issues prompted the earlier Requires Improvement judgement have been addressed to the inspector's satisfaction.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An improvement in Safe from Requires Improvement to Good is the most important factual signal in this report. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety is most likely to slip in smaller homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency of care your parent experiences day to day. The published findings do not tell us how many permanent staff are on overnight for these 38 residents, or how often the home uses agency cover. Those are two questions you should ask directly before making a decision. Family review data shows that safe environment and staff attentiveness together account for nearly 26 percent of what families mention positively in their reviews, so this domain carries real weight.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research from the IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are two of the strongest predictors of safety quality in residential dementia care. A home that has recently improved its Safe rating is worth questioning closely about what specifically changed.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not just the approved template. Count the permanent versus agency names on night shifts specifically, and ask what the minimum staffing level is overnight for the 38 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This covers training, care planning, nutritional care, and how well the home works with other health professionals including GPs. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would have assessed whether staff training reflects that. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, or GP access arrangements is available in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that specialises in dementia care, the quality of staff training and care planning matters enormously. Good Practice evidence shows that care plans work best when they are treated as living documents, reviewed regularly and updated with family input, rather than as paperwork completed on admission and rarely revisited. Food quality is also part of the Effective domain and accounts for nearly 21 percent of positive family reviews in our data. The inspection confirmed a Good rating here but did not publish specific observations about meals, choice, or dietary management. Ask the home how often your parent's care plan would be reviewed and whether you would be invited to take part.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that regular, family-involved care plan reviews are one of the strongest markers of genuinely person-centred dementia care. Homes that treat care plans as live documents, updated as a person's needs change, consistently outperform those that treat them as one-time assessments.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed, who is present at those reviews, and whether families are routinely invited. Then ask to see an example of how a plan has changed in response to a resident's changing needs."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether residents are supported to maintain their independence. Staff warmth is the single largest driver of family satisfaction in our review data. The published summary confirms a Good rating but does not include specific inspector observations about how staff interacted with residents, whether preferred names were used, or how staff responded to distress.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth accounts for 57.3 percent of positive mentions in family reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes, making it by far the most important factor families report. A Good rating in Caring is encouraging, but the real test is what you observe when you walk through the door unannounced. Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken language for people living with dementia, and that knowing each person as an individual, their history, preferences, and the names they prefer to be called, is the foundation of kind care. Watch how staff move through communal areas and whether interactions feel unhurried.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that person-led care, where staff know each resident's individual history and preferences, consistently produces better wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia than task-focused approaches, even when the tasks themselves are completed correctly.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted, and observe whether any interactions in corridors or communal areas feel rushed. Ask a member of staff what your parent likes to do in the morning, to test whether individual preferences are genuinely known."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This covers activities, engagement, how the home responds to individual needs, and end-of-life care planning. The home specialises in dementia and sensory impairment, which makes the quality of individual engagement particularly important. The published summary does not describe the activity programme, one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot join groups, or how end-of-life wishes are recorded and honoured.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for nearly 49 percent of the themes families mention in positive reviews. A Good rating in Responsive is a positive signal, but our Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people living with advanced dementia. One-to-one engagement, including everyday tasks like folding, gardening, or looking through photographs, provides continuity and meaning for residents who can no longer participate in organised sessions. The inspection did not publish specific detail on how the home approaches individual engagement. Ask to see a sample weekly activity schedule and ask specifically what happens for residents who cannot join group sessions.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that Montessori-based and task-based individual engagement approaches, tailored to a person's life history and current abilities, produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes than group-only activity programmes for people living with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see last week's actual activity records, not just the planned schedule. Ask the activities coordinator or a senior carer what individual engagement looks like for a resident with advanced dementia who cannot join group sessions."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection, an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The home is run by DEMA Residential Homes Limited, with two named registered managers, Mrs Elaine Bismor and Miss Laura Bismor. Mrs Elaine Bismor is also the nominated individual. A family-led management structure with two named, accountable managers in place suggests leadership continuity. The published summary does not describe specific governance systems, how the home learns from incidents, or how staff are supported to raise concerns.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research is consistent on this point: leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. A home with named, visible managers who staff and residents know by name tends to outperform homes where management changes frequently. The family-run structure here, with two named managers from the same family, may offer continuity. Communication with families accounts for 11.5 percent of positive family reviews in our data. The inspection did not publish detail on how the home keeps families informed, but this is one of the most important questions to ask on a visit, particularly given the recent history of a Requires Improvement rating.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that bottom-up empowerment, where frontline staff feel able to raise concerns without fear and where management is visibly present, is one of the clearest markers of a well-led home and a strong predictor of sustained quality improvement.","watch_out":"Ask both managers directly what specific changes were made in response to the previous Requires Improvement rating, and ask a frontline carer whether they feel comfortable raising concerns with management. The answers 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 provides care for people over 65 with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They also support residents living with dementia and offer respite care services.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the home's emphasis on social activities and staff engagement can help maintain connection and stimulation. The team appears comfortable working with residents who have varying levels of cognitive ability. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.