Dementia Care Home

Swallowfield Gardens Care Home

653 Chorley New Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL6 6LH

Nursing homes

At a Glance

The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.

DCC Family Score
72/ 100
Weighted from family reviews
Dementia SpecialismConfirmed

Nursing homes

Families Rate The Staff72 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”68%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds30
  • SpecialismsDementia, Mental health conditions, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
  • Last inspected2022-11-17

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The Evidence

What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.

Section 01

What families say

What strikes visitors is how naturally residents settle into the rhythm here. The daily activities programme keeps everyone engaged, while regular outings add variety to the week. That monthly community café has become quite the local fixture, with schools, police officers and charity groups all popping in for a chat.

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth72
  • Compassion & dignity72
  • Cleanliness70
  • Activities & engagement60
  • Food quality60
  • Healthcare68
  • Management & leadership72
  • Resident happiness68
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-11-17

  • Is this home safe?

    Good
    The Safe domain was rated Good at the October 2022 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. No concerns were recorded. The home holds specialist registration for dementia, which means inspectors assessed safety arrangements against that specific population. The published report does not reproduce specific observations or data to explain what the Good rating was based on.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Good
    The Effective domain was rated Good. This covers how well the home assesses and responds to people's needs, including care planning, dementia training, healthcare access, and food and nutrition. Dementia is a listed specialism, implying the inspection considered whether staff have appropriate skills. The published text does not reproduce specific examples of care plan quality, training content, GP access arrangements, or food provision.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Good
    The Caring domain was rated Good. This is the domain that covers how staff treat your parent day to day, including whether they use preferred names, whether residents are rushed, and whether privacy and dignity are protected. No concerns were identified. The published report does not reproduce any direct observations of staff interactions or quotes from residents or relatives that would allow families to form a picture of the daily atmosphere.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Good
    The Responsive domain was rated Good. This covers whether care is tailored to the individual, whether activities are meaningful and accessible, and whether end-of-life care is planned. With 30 beds and a dementia specialism, the home is a relatively small setting, which can support more personalised responsiveness. The published report does not describe specific activities, individual engagement approaches, or how the home handles end-of-life planning.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Good
    The Well-led domain was rated Good. A named registered manager, Mrs Tina Jane Oakes, and a nominated individual, Mr Keith Lowe, are recorded as responsible for the home. The running organisation is Cuerden Developments Ltd. The Good rating implies inspectors found satisfactory governance, a positive staff culture, and appropriate accountability. The published text does not describe how long the current manager has been in post, staff turnover, or specific governance mechanisms.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    The home provides specialised support for people living with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. For residents with dementia, the structured daily activities and regular community connections help maintain familiar routines. Staff understand how to support people through the changes dementia brings, keeping dignity and individual preferences at the heart of their approach. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.

The DCC Verdict

Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.

72/ 100

DCC Family Score

Swallowfield Garden Care Home was rated Good across all five inspection domains, which is a positive baseline. However, the published inspection text contains very limited specific detail, so many scores reflect a confirmed-but-undetailed Good rather than strongly evidenced practice.

Homes in North West typically score 68–82.

The three-lens summary

Lens 01

What families tell us

What strikes visitors is how naturally residents settle into the rhythm here. The daily activities programme keeps everyone engaged, while regular outings add variety to the week. That monthly community café has become quite the local fixture, with schools, police officers and charity groups all popping in for a chat.

Lens 02

What inspectors have recorded

Families talk about staff who are genuinely approachable — the kind who remember how you take your tea and actually stop to chat. The management keeps an open-door approach that seems to filter through the whole team. When families need updates or have concerns, they find people ready to listen and respond.

Lens 03

How it sits against good practice

Sometimes the best measure of a care home is whether families still feel positive after years, not just weeks.

DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Swallowfield Garden Care Home, at 653 Chorley New Road in Bolton, was rated Good across all five inspection domains at its assessment in October 2022. The rating has been reviewed once since then, in July 2023, and no evidence was found to require reassessment. The home is registered to provide nursing care for up to 30 people and holds specialist registration for dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment. A named registered manager and nominated individual are in post. The main limitation for families is that the published inspection text contains very little specific detail. All five domain ratings are Good, which is a genuinely positive finding, but the report does not reproduce inspector observations, resident or family quotes, or specific examples of practice. This means you cannot rely on the published findings alone to judge whether the home is the right fit for your parent. On your visit, ask to see last week's actual staffing rota (not the template), ask how many permanent versus agency staff worked nights in the past month, and observe how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal areas when they do not know they are being watched.

The three questions to ask when you visit

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In Their Own Words

How Swallowfield Gardens Care Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Swallowfield Gardens Care Home says about itself

Where monthly community cafés bring the whole neighbourhood together

Compassionate Care in Bolton at Swallowfield Garden Care Home

Finding the right care in Bolton can feel overwhelming, especially when you need support for complex needs. Swallowfield Garden Care Home has built something special — a place where daily activities blend with regular community events, creating genuine connections beyond the home's walls. Families describe walking into a fresh, modern environment where staff genuinely seem to enjoy what they do.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    The home provides specialised support for people living with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

    How they describe their dementia care

    For residents with dementia, the structured daily activities and regular community connections help maintain familiar routines. Staff understand how to support people through the changes dementia brings, keeping dignity and individual preferences at the heart of their approach.

    “Sometimes the best measure of a care home is whether families still feel positive after years, not just weeks.”

    DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.

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