Alder House Care Home

What families say

People often mention how staff take time to build real relationships with both residents and their families. Visitors notice residents looking smart and well-presented, treating each person with genuine respect. The warmth extends beyond just the staff — families describe an atmosphere where everyone feels included and valued.

Based on 35 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
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-01 · Report published 2019-05-01 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Beyond that rating, the published report does not include specific observations about staffing levels, medicines management, falls recording, infection control practices, or how the home responds to safety incidents. The home is registered to care for people with complex needs across 60 beds, which makes staffing ratios a particularly important question to explore directly.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety is the minimum you should expect, and it is reassuring that the home met that standard. However, our Good Practice evidence base (drawn from 61 studies) identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in care homes, and the inspection did not record specific detail on night-time arrangements here. Agency staff reliance is another known risk factor for consistency of safe care: if your parent is on a dementia unit, familiar faces at night matter enormously. The inspection findings alone cannot answer these questions, so you will need to ask directly.","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 living with dementia who may become distressed or disoriented after dark.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not a template. Count how many permanent carers were on the dementia unit each night, and ask what the home's policy is when a permanent member of staff calls in sick on a night shift."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include specific information about care plan quality, GP access arrangements, dementia training content, food provision, or how the home monitors and responds to changes in people's health. The home supports people with a wide range of complex needs, including dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, so the depth of specialist training is an important question.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality and healthcare access together account for a meaningful share of what families tell us matters most in our review data (food at 20.9% and healthcare at 20.2% of positive reviews). Neither is addressed in specific detail in the published findings for this home. Good Practice research consistently identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated as a person's needs change, and families should be involved in those reviews. The inspection did not confirm whether that happens here, so ask to see how a care plan is built and how often it is revisited.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that regular, structured GP access and dementia-specific training for all care staff (not just senior staff) are two of the strongest markers of effective care for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether families are routinely invited to contribute. Then ask what specific dementia training every member of the care team (including domestic and catering staff) has completed in the past 12 months."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident or relative testimony about kindness or dignity, or specific examples of how the home supports people to maintain independence and privacy. A Good rating in this domain means inspectors were satisfied, but the detail behind that judgement is not available in the published 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 follow closely at 55.2%. These are things you can observe for yourself during a visit: watch whether staff knock before entering rooms, whether they use the names people prefer, and whether they sit down to speak with someone rather than talking over them. Good Practice research shows that non-verbal communication matters as much as what staff say, particularly for people with advanced dementia who may not be able to express distress in words.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review highlights that person-led care, which requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style, produces measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia compared with task-focused routines.","watch_out":"During your visit, find a moment to sit in a communal area for ten minutes without being guided anywhere. Notice whether staff passing through stop to acknowledge the people sitting there, whether they use names, and whether interactions feel unhurried or brisk."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include detail about the activities programme, how the home tailors engagement to individuals with different levels of ability, how complaints are handled, or how end-of-life care is planned and delivered. For a 60-bed home supporting people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, meaningful daily activity and individual engagement are particularly important to explore.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for a significant share of what families value, at 21.4% and 27.1% of positive reviews respectively. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with advanced dementia: individual, one-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, sensory activities, and life-history conversations, produces the best outcomes for wellbeing. The inspection did not confirm whether this home provides that level of individual engagement, so it is worth asking specifically.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, particularly those drawing on a person's life history and everyday tasks, significantly reduce agitation and improve mood in people living with dementia compared with group-only programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities schedule for the past two weeks, not a printed template. Then ask specifically what happens for someone on the dementia unit who cannot participate in group activities: is there a named person responsible for one-to-one engagement, and how often does that happen?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Mrs Hayley Jane Wood is named as the registered manager and Mrs Natasha Southall as the nominated individual for the provider, Avery Homes TH Limited. The published report does not include specific observations about the manager's visibility, how staff are supported to raise concerns, how the home uses audits or incident data to drive improvement, or how families are kept informed and involved.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of a home's quality trajectory over time. A named, permanent registered manager is a positive sign. However, the inspection provides no detail about how long Mrs Wood has been in post, how staff describe the culture, or whether the home has a track record of acting on feedback. Communication with families at 11.5% of positive reviews is another marker worth exploring directly.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear, and where managers are regularly visible on the floor rather than office-based, consistently perform better on safety and care quality over time.","watch_out":"When you meet the manager, ask how long she has been in post and what the biggest change she has made since joining was. Also ask how the home typically contacts families when something changes with their parent, and what the process is for raising a concern if a family member is unhappy with something."}

  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 Alder House supports adults both under and over 65 with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home accepts residents with dementia, though families should discuss specific needs during their visit. Staff work to keep residents with dementia engaged through the day's activities and social programs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.