Leah Lodge Care Home

What families say

Visitors frequently comment on how staff take time to connect with both residents and their families. People describe feeling confident about their loved ones' happiness here, with several mentioning that residents themselves express contentment with their new surroundings.

Based on 15 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 & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-04-17 · Report published 2019-04-17 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. This represents an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The published report does not include specific detail about how the Good rating was achieved. No information is provided about staffing levels, agency staff use, falls management, medicines administration, or infection control practices.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safety is reassuring, but the absence of detail in the published report means you cannot rely on it alone. Good Practice research consistently finds that safety risks are highest at night, when staffing is thinnest, and that homes with high agency staff use often struggle to maintain consistency of care for people with dementia. Because this home previously held a Requires Improvement rating, it is especially important to understand what changed and to check night staffing specifically. Ask for the actual staffing rota from last week, not a template, and count how many permanent staff were on overnight.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes, particularly for people with dementia who may need support overnight.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for a recent week. Count how many permanent staff were on duty overnight versus agency cover, and ask what the minimum staffing level is for 48 residents on a night shift."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. No specific information is provided in the published report about care plan quality, review frequency, dementia training, GP access, or how the home manages residents' nutritional needs. The rating itself confirms the home met the required standard, but no observations or evidence are described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home means staff know your parent as an individual, care plans are kept up to date, and health needs are spotted and acted on quickly. Our review data shows that families mention healthcare responsiveness in around 20% of positive reviews, and food quality appears in a similar proportion. The published findings here do not tell you whether care plans are detailed or reviewed regularly, or how the home manages GP access. This is an important gap to close before making a decision. Ask to see an example of how the home gathers a new resident's life history and preferences.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed at least monthly for people with dementia, with families actively included in those reviews. Homes that treat care plans as administrative checklists rather than genuine guides to the individual are associated with poorer outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to take part. Then ask to see the form the home uses to record a new resident's personal history, routines, and preferences before or on the day of admission."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. The published report does not include inspector observations of staff interactions, resident or family quotes about how they are treated, or any detail about how the home promotes dignity, independence, or preferred names. The Good rating confirms the standard was met, but no evidence of what caring looks and feels like in practice is recorded in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity appear in 55.2%. These are the things families notice immediately on a first visit. Because the inspection report contains no specific observations about how staff interact with the people who live here, you will need to see this for yourself. On your visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted, whether they crouch to eye level when speaking to someone seated, and whether interactions feel unhurried. These small things are the most reliable signal of genuine caring culture.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication, including pace, eye contact, and physical proximity, matters as much as words for people with advanced dementia. A staff team that genuinely knows each resident as a person will demonstrate this in ways that are observable within a few minutes of watching.","watch_out":"During your visit, ask a member of staff (not the manager) what your parent's preferred name is and what they enjoy doing in the mornings. The answer will tell you more than any document whether this home genuinely knows the people in its care."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. The published report does not provide any detail about the activities programme, how the home tailors engagement to individuals with dementia, how complaints are handled, or how end-of-life care is approached. As with the other domains, the Good rating is confirmed but the evidence behind it is not described in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness and meaningful activity appear in 27.1% and 21.4% of positive family reviews respectively. For people with dementia especially, the difference between a home that offers genuine individual engagement and one that relies on group television viewing can be significant. The published findings do not tell you what activity looks like at Leah Lodge. Good Practice research emphasises that for people with advanced dementia who cannot join group activities, one-to-one engagement by a named staff member is essential. Ask specifically what happens for your parent if they cannot or do not want to join a group session.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base supports Montessori-based and everyday task approaches for people with dementia, finding that purposeful, familiar activities reduce distress and support a sense of identity. Homes that offer only scheduled group activities often leave the most vulnerable residents unengaged for long periods.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity record from the past two weeks, not the planned schedule. Check whether individual residents are named in the records, and ask what one-to-one engagement was offered to someone who was unable to join a group session during that period."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the February 2021 inspection. Mrs Carole Hunt is confirmed as the registered manager and Mrs Susan Jean Hill as the nominated individual for Blackheath Care Ltd. The home has been inspected twice, with the most recent inspection showing improvement across all domains from a previous Requires Improvement rating. No further detail about management visibility, staff culture, quality monitoring, or complaint handling is provided in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A named, registered manager in post is a basic but important marker of governance stability. Good Practice research consistently finds that leadership stability predicts quality over time, and homes where staff feel able to speak up about concerns tend to perform better across all domains. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good is meaningful and suggests the management team made genuine changes. However, the inspection took place in February 2021, which means the findings are now a few years old. Staff and management may have changed since then. Ask how long the current manager has been in post and whether there have been significant staffing changes in the past year.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies management stability and a culture where staff can raise concerns without fear as among the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Improvement from a lower rating is a positive signal, but it needs to be maintained over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long she has been in post at Leah Lodge, and ask whether the same senior staff team is in place now as when the inspection took place. High turnover at senior level after a Good rating can mean quality does not hold."}

  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 Leah Lodge provides specialist care for adults both under and over 65, with particular expertise in dementia support. The home also accommodates residents with physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team's dementia care approach combines professional knowledge with genuine warmth. Families often express relief at finding staff who understand the complexities of dementia while maintaining the personal touch that makes such a difference. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.