Devonshire Dementia Care Home and Day Centre
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Residential homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds34
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Dementia
- Last inspected2020-02-11
- Activities programmeThe home maintains high standards of cleanliness that families notice immediately. Sensory gardens provide peaceful spaces for residents to enjoy, while the dementia-friendly layout helps people navigate confidently. The structured activity programme includes reminiscence sessions that families find thoughtfully planned.
- Visit Website
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
The atmosphere here strikes people as calm and purposeful. Residents settle into routines that respect their dignity, with carers who know when to step in and when to encourage independence. Families mention feeling part of daily life through regular coffee mornings and singing sessions that bring everyone together.
Based on 49 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth72
- Compassion & dignity72
- Cleanliness70
- Activities & engagement60
- Food quality60
- Healthcare65
- Management & leadership70
- Resident happiness68
What inspectors found
Inspected 2020-02-11 · Report published 2020-02-11 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its January 2020 inspection. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring reassessment of this rating. Beyond the headline rating, the published report does not contain specific observations about staffing levels, medicines management, falls recording, or infection control practice. The safety picture is therefore positive in broad terms but lacks the specific detail that would allow a more confident assessment.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is the baseline you need, and it is good that this has held stable since 2020. However, the Good Practice evidence base from the IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review (61 studies, March 2026) identifies night staffing as the single area where safety most commonly deteriorates in care homes, and the published report gives no information about overnight staffing numbers. Our family review data also shows that staff attentiveness is mentioned in 14% of positive reviews, meaning families notice and value it when staff are present and responsive. You cannot assess this from the published report alone. Visit after 7pm if you can, or at least ask the manager directly how many staff are on overnight for 34 residents.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are the two factors most consistently associated with safety incidents in residential dementia care. Neither is addressed in the published findings here.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many staff are on duty overnight, and what proportion of those shifts are covered by permanent staff rather than agency workers? Then ask to see the actual rota for the past fortnight, not a staffing template."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at its January 2020 inspection. The monitoring review in July 2023 found no reason to revise this. The home holds a dementia specialism registration, which means it is formally set up to provide dementia-specific care. The published report does not include specific detail about care plan content, how often plans are reviewed, dementia training records, GP access arrangements, or how the home manages nutrition and hydration.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A dementia specialism means the home has committed to a particular focus, but the quality of that focus depends heavily on training and care planning in practice. The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed regularly and updated as a person's needs change, particularly in dementia where needs can shift quickly. Food quality is mentioned positively in 20.9% of family reviews in our data, making it a meaningful signal of genuine care. The published report gives no detail on either of these areas, so you will need to ask directly. Request to see a sample care plan (with personal details removed) and ask how often plans are formally reviewed.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that regular, structured GP access and dementia-specific training with observable outcomes (not just completion certificates) are the two effectiveness markers most strongly associated with good resident wellbeing in specialist dementia settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how often are care plans reviewed, and can you show me an example of how a plan was updated when a resident's needs changed? Also ask what dementia training staff have completed and when they last did it."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at its January 2020 inspection. This rating has remained stable. The published report does not include inspector observations about staff interactions, use of preferred names, responses to distress, or any resident or family quotes about how staff made them feel. The caring rating is therefore confirmed at a headline level but cannot be verified in specific, observable detail from the published findings.","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 remember most and notice fastest on a visit. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication, including tone, pace, and eye contact, matters as much as verbal interaction for people living with dementia who may have limited language. You cannot assess this from a report. When you visit, watch how a staff member responds when a resident calls out or becomes unsettled. Watch whether staff sit at eye level, use a calm tone, and address your parent by their preferred name without being prompted.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and non-verbal cues. Homes where staff could describe residents as individuals, rather than by diagnosis or dependency level, consistently showed better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"During your visit, ask a member of staff (not the manager) what your parent's preferred name would be and what they enjoy doing. If the answer is detailed and personal, that is a strong signal. If the answer is vague, that tells you something important too."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at its January 2020 inspection, with no change identified at the July 2023 review. The published report does not contain any detail about the activities programme, how activities are tailored to individuals, whether one-to-one engagement is available for people who cannot join groups, or how the home responds to complaints and individual requests. The responsive rating is confirmed but not supported by specific published evidence.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are mentioned positively in 21.4% of family reviews in our data, and resident happiness and contentment appear in 27.1%. For someone living with dementia, meaningful occupation during the day is not a luxury; it is directly linked to reduced agitation, better sleep, and overall wellbeing, according to the Good Practice evidence base. Group activities are useful, but the evidence is particularly strong for one-to-one engagement and familiar, everyday tasks for people with more advanced dementia. The published report tells you nothing about whether this home provides that level of individual engagement. Ask to see the activity programme and ask specifically what happens for residents who cannot join group sessions.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks (such as folding, gardening, and simple cooking) produced the strongest wellbeing outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared with passive group entertainment alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator, or whoever leads activities, to describe what happened last Tuesday for a resident who could not join the group session. A specific, detailed answer is a good sign. A general answer about keeping everyone busy is not."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for leadership at its January 2020 inspection. A registered manager, Mr Smithmon Sasi, is named in the registration record, confirming legal accountability is in place. The home is run by Mr and Mrs A Mangalji as owners. The published report does not include observations about the manager's visibility, how staff are supported, whether there are governance processes in place, or how the home responds to feedback and incidents. The well-led rating is confirmed but not detailed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is mentioned in 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and communication with families appears in 11.5%. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality over time: homes with consistent, visible managers who staff feel comfortable speaking to tend to maintain standards even as occupancy grows or staff change. The published report does not tell you how long the current manager has been in post or whether the management culture encourages staff to raise concerns. These are things to ask and observe on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that homes where frontline staff felt able to raise concerns without fear of dismissal, and where managers were regularly visible on the floor rather than office-based, had consistently better outcomes across all quality domains.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at this home, and then ask a care worker (separately) whether they feel comfortable raising a concern with management. The two answers together tell you a great deal about the culture of the home."}
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 The home specialises in dementia care for adults over 65, with particular strength in supporting residents through different stages of the condition.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here understand the patience and flexibility dementia care requires. They've created an environment where therapeutic design supports daily life, from the layout of communal spaces to the sensory gardens that offer moments of calm. — 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.
DCC Family Score
The home received a Good rating across all five domains at its January 2020 inspection, which is a solid foundation, but the published report contains very little specific detail or direct observation to support higher scores in any individual theme.
Homes in London typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
The atmosphere here strikes people as calm and purposeful. Residents settle into routines that respect their dignity, with carers who know when to step in and when to encourage independence. Families mention feeling part of daily life through regular coffee mornings and singing sessions that bring everyone together.
What inspectors have recorded
Communication stands out here — families receive detailed weekly reports about their loved ones, and staff respond quickly to questions or concerns. The team demonstrates real dementia expertise, managing transitions smoothly and showing genuine engagement with each resident's needs.
How it sits against good practice
Some safeguarding concerns have been raised that warrant careful consideration before making any decisions.
Worth a visit
Devonshire Dementia Care Home in New Malden was rated Good across all five inspection domains at its last full inspection in January 2020. A monitoring review carried out in July 2023 found no evidence that the rating needed to be reconsidered, which means the home has maintained a consistent picture over several years. The home specialises in dementia care for adults over 65, has 34 beds, and is run by a named registered manager. The main limitation of this report is that the published inspection text is very brief and contains almost no specific observations, quotes from residents or families, or concrete detail about day-to-day life. A Good rating is reassuring, but it tells you relatively little on its own. Before you decide, visit the home at a quiet time (mid-morning on a weekday works well), ask to see last week's actual staffing rota including night shifts, ask how many permanent staff work on the dementia unit regularly, and observe whether staff make eye contact and use your parent's preferred name without being prompted.
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In Their Own Words
How Devonshire Dementia Care Home and Day Centre describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where dementia care meets genuine understanding and respect
Devonshire Dementia Care Home – Expert Care in New Malden
When families describe feeling genuinely welcomed and informed, you know something special is happening. Devonshire Dementia Care Home in New Malden has built its reputation on transparency and skilled dementia care. Families talk about weekly updates that keep them connected, and staff who truly understand the complexities of dementia.
Who they care for
The home specialises in dementia care for adults over 65, with particular strength in supporting residents through different stages of the condition.
Staff here understand the patience and flexibility dementia care requires. They've created an environment where therapeutic design supports daily life, from the layout of communal spaces to the sensory gardens that offer moments of calm.
Management & ethos
Communication stands out here — families receive detailed weekly reports about their loved ones, and staff respond quickly to questions or concerns. The team demonstrates real dementia expertise, managing transitions smoothly and showing genuine engagement with each resident's needs.
The home & environment
The home maintains high standards of cleanliness that families notice immediately. Sensory gardens provide peaceful spaces for residents to enjoy, while the dementia-friendly layout helps people navigate confidently. The structured activity programme includes reminiscence sessions that families find thoughtfully planned.
“Some safeguarding concerns have been raised that warrant careful consideration before making any decisions.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
