Dementia Care Home

Perry Locks

398 Aldridge Road, Birmingham, West Midlands, B44 8BG

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 Staff75 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”70%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds128
  • SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Mental health conditions, Physical disabilities
  • Last inspected2019-01-12

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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

Families consistently describe how staff create an atmosphere where residents flourish. They talk about seeing their loved ones become more communicative, more engaged in activities, and visibly happier. The care team's approach seems to help residents rediscover parts of themselves that families thought might be lost, whether that's participating in activities or simply showing contentment in daily life.

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth75
  • Compassion & dignity75
  • Cleanliness70
  • Activities & engagement65
  • Food quality60
  • Healthcare70
  • Management & leadership45
  • Resident happiness70
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-12

  • Is this home safe?

    Good
    The Safe domain was rated Good at the December 2018 inspection, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The published inspection summary does not include specific detail about staffing numbers, medicines management, or falls recording, so it is not possible to give a precise picture from the text alone. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied that the home was meeting safety requirements at that time. Given the home's size of 128 beds and its mix of specialisms including dementia and mental health, night staffing arrangements are a particularly important area to probe. The inspection took place over six years ago, so current safety arrangements should be verified directly with the home.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Good
    Effective was rated Good at the December 2018 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and food quality. The published summary does not include specific detail about any of these areas, so it is not possible to say from the inspection text alone how care plans are structured, how often GP access is arranged, or what the food is like. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with overall effectiveness at that time. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means dementia-specific training and care planning should be a particular focus when you visit.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Good
    The Caring domain was rated Good at the December 2018 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity and respect, and support for residents' independence. The published summary does not include direct observations of staff interactions, quotes from residents or relatives, or specific examples of how dignity is maintained in practice. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with caring standards at that time. For a home with 128 residents across dementia, mental health, and physical disability specialisms, the quality of everyday interactions is particularly important.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Good
    Responsive was rated Good at the December 2018 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and how the home responds to residents' changing needs. The published summary does not include specific detail about the activities programme, one-to-one engagement, or how the home supports people with advanced dementia to remain active. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with responsiveness at that time. Given the home's dementia specialism, the quality and range of activities, particularly for people who cannot join group sessions, is an important area to investigate.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Requires improvement
    Well-led was rated Requires Improvement at the December 2018 inspection, and this was the only domain not to achieve a Good rating. This means inspectors found concerns about management, governance, or the home's systems for monitoring and improving its own quality. The published summary does not detail what specific failures were identified. The overall rating was Good because the other four domains were satisfactory, but a Requires Improvement in Well-led is a meaningful gap. The home has not been re-inspected since December 2018, so it is not known from official findings whether the concerns identified have been fully addressed.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    Perry Locks provides specialist support for residents with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities, caring for both younger adults under 65 and older residents. For residents living with dementia, the team focuses on maintaining connections and capabilities. Families describe seeing their loved ones engage more fully with daily life here, from improved communication to renewed interest in activities and meals. 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

Perry Locks Care Home scores reasonably well across the care and safety domains, but the Requires Improvement rating for well-led pulls the overall picture down and means leadership and governance are areas to probe carefully on any visit.

Homes in West Midlands typically score 68–82.

The three-lens summary

Lens 01

What families tell us

Families consistently describe how staff create an atmosphere where residents flourish. They talk about seeing their loved ones become more communicative, more engaged in activities, and visibly happier. The care team's approach seems to help residents rediscover parts of themselves that families thought might be lost, whether that's participating in activities or simply showing contentment in daily life.

Lens 02

What inspectors have recorded

The care team's clinical skills particularly stand out — families describe how quickly staff spot health needs and arrange appropriate support, like organizing physiotherapy assessments that lead to real mobility improvements. There's round-the-clock visiting, and families feel genuinely included in their loved one's care journey. Some families have mentioned concerns about staffing levels at times, which is worth discussing with the home to understand their current situation.

Lens 03

How it sits against good practice

What comes through most strongly is how the clinical expertise here translates into real quality of life improvements that families can see and measure.

DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Perry Locks Care Home, at 398 Aldridge Road in Birmingham, was rated Good overall at its inspection in December 2018, an improvement from its previous rating of Requires Improvement. Four of the five domains, Safe, Effective, Caring, and Responsive, were all rated Good, which is a meaningful step forward and suggests the home had made genuine progress in how it looks after the 128 people who live there. The important caveat is that Well-led, the domain covering management, governance, and leadership culture, was rated Requires Improvement at that same inspection. That gap matters, because strong leadership is what sustains care quality over time. It is also worth noting that this inspection took place in December 2018, now more than six years ago, and a monitoring review in July 2023 did not trigger a reassessment. The home has not been inspected since. Before making a decision, ask to meet the registered manager in person, find out how long they have been in post, and ask what has changed in the Well-led domain since 2018. On your visit, also check night staffing ratios, ask about agency staff use, and look at whether the activities programme offers real one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot join group sessions.

The three questions to ask when you visit

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In Their Own Words

How Perry Locks describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Perry Locks says about itself

Where health improvements and genuine warmth make the difference

Compassionate Care in Birmingham at Perry Locks Care Home

When families describe the changes they see in their loved ones at Perry Locks Care Home in Birmingham, they talk about real, measurable progress — from residents who couldn't walk beginning to take steps again, to those who'd stopped eating rediscovering their appetite. This West Midlands care home has built its reputation on clinical expertise combined with the kind of emotional support that helps both residents and families through difficult transitions.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    Perry Locks provides specialist support for residents with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities, caring for both younger adults under 65 and older residents.

    How they describe their dementia care

    For residents living with dementia, the team focuses on maintaining connections and capabilities. Families describe seeing their loved ones engage more fully with daily life here, from improved communication to renewed interest in activities and meals.

    “What comes through most strongly is how the clinical expertise here translates into real quality of life improvements that families can see and measure.”

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

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