Lake View Residential Care Home – Sanctuary Care

What families say

What strikes visitors most is how residents seem genuinely happy here — you'll often hear people chatting contentedly or enjoying activities together. The atmosphere feels calm and purposeful, with staff moving quietly between residents, checking in without fuss. Many families mention feeling relieved to see their relatives looking so settled and comfortable.

Based on 46 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness60
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-04-21 · Report published 2020-04-21 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at the March 2020 inspection, representing an improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in this domain. The published report does not include specific detail about staffing ratios, falls management, medicines handling, or infection control observations. The named registered manager and nominated individual were confirmed as in post. No specific concerns about safety were raised in the findings available. A desktop review in July 2023 found no new information that would change this rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, particularly because the home previously fell short in this area and has since improved. However, the published findings give you very little specific information to work with. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety is most likely to slip in residential homes, and that high agency staff use undermines the consistency your parent needs, especially if they have dementia. Because the inspection text records no specific staffing data, you will need to ask these questions yourself on a visit. The checklist above lists the key questions to put to the manager.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (2026) found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes. A Good rating alone does not confirm adequate night cover.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not the planned template. Count the number of permanent versus agency names on each night shift, and ask what the minimum number of staff on duty overnight is for the full 60 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Effective at the March 2020 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, nutritional support, and how well the home applies knowledge of dementia care. The published text does not include specific observations about any of these areas. Dementia and sensory impairment are listed as specialisms, which means inspectors would have assessed whether staff have relevant knowledge and whether care plans reflect individual needs. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An Effective rating tells you that inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home plans and delivers care, but the lack of specific detail in the published findings means you cannot verify what that looks like in practice for your parent. Our review data shows that food quality (mentioned in 20.9% of positive family reviews) and dementia-specific care (12.7%) are areas families care deeply about. Good Practice evidence identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated regularly and co-produced with families, not filed and forgotten. Ask specifically about both of these areas when you visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that regular GP access, up-to-date and personalised care plans, and meaningful dementia training (beyond basic online modules) are the three most consistent markers of an effectively run care home. Generic compliance statements are not a substitute for these specifics.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and ask the manager when it was last reviewed and whether the family was involved in that review. Then ask what dementia training all care staff have completed in the last 12 months and whether you can see the training records."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Caring at the March 2020 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and whether people are treated as individuals. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident quotes about how they feel treated, or specific examples of dignity in practice. No concerns were identified. The home's specialism in dementia care means inspectors would have considered how staff communicate with people who may have limited verbal communication.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned positively in 57.3% of reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good Caring rating is a positive signal, but the absence of specific inspector observations or resident quotes in this report means you cannot rely on the published text alone to judge this. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as words for people with dementia, and that staff who know a person's history, preferences, and routines deliver meaningfully better care. Observe this yourself: watch how staff speak to residents in communal areas, and check whether your parent would be addressed by their preferred name.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-centred caring relationships, where staff know individual life histories and communicate in ways that go beyond verbal instruction, are consistently associated with better wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for at least 15 minutes and watch how staff interact with residents who are not asking for help. Notice whether staff crouch to eye level, use the resident's preferred name, and stay for a moment rather than moving on immediately. This is one of the clearest observable signals of a genuinely caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Lake View was rated Good for Responsive at the March 2020 inspection. This domain covers whether the home provides activities that are meaningful to individuals, responds to changing needs, supports independence, and has effective arrangements for people approaching the end of life. The published text does not describe specific activities, individual engagement programmes, or end-of-life care arrangements. The home's specialism in dementia care would have been a factor in the Responsive assessment. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is cited in 27.1% of positive family reviews and activities engagement in 21.4%, making this one of the areas families most want to understand before choosing a home. A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but the lack of specific evidence here means you cannot tell from the published findings whether your parent would have a varied, stimulating daily life or whether activities consist mainly of group television watching. Good Practice research consistently shows that one-to-one, tailored activities (including everyday household tasks like folding, watering plants, or sorting items) are especially important for people with advanced dementia who cannot participate in group sessions. Ask specifically about this.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and occupation-focused approaches to activity, including individualised one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join groups, are among the most effective ways to support wellbeing for people living with dementia. Planned group activities do not substitute for this.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (not the manager) to describe what happened yesterday for a resident with moderate to advanced dementia who was not able to join a group session. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, that tells you something important about how the home approaches individual engagement."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Well-led at the March 2020 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This improvement is the most significant finding in the available report: inspectors determined that leadership had identified problems and put effective improvements in place. A registered manager (Miss Danielle Joanne Sheldon) and a nominated individual (Mrs Louise Palmer) are named as in post. The home is run by Sanctuary Care Limited, a larger provider operating multiple homes. No governance concerns were raised at the March 2020 inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in leadership is the clearest positive signal in this report. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time: homes with a stable, visible manager who staff can speak to openly are more likely to sustain and improve their ratings. Our review data shows that family confidence in management is mentioned in 23.4% of positive reviews. However, the inspection is now over four years old, and staff and management teams change. Confirming that the same registered manager is still in post, and asking about any significant staffing changes since 2020, is an important step before making a decision.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear are among the strongest predictors of sustained care quality. Homes that empower staff to make decisions at ward level, rather than escalating everything to management, tend to have better outcomes for residents.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post at Lake View and whether there have been significant changes in the senior team since 2020. Then ask how a care worker would raise a concern about a resident's care if they were worried: a confident, specific answer suggests a healthy speaking-up culture."}

  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 Lake View provides residential care for adults over 65, with particular experience supporting people living with dementia and sensory impairments. They also care for younger adults who need residential support.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team understands how to create structure and familiarity for residents with dementia, helping them feel secure through consistent routines. Staff know how to respond calmly to confusion or distress, giving families confidence in the daily care. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.