Belmont House Nursing Home

What families say

Families describe walking into a place that feels genuinely welcoming, where staff greet visitors cheerfully and residents seem content in their surroundings. The atmosphere strikes people as both professional and relaxed, with staff who clearly enjoy spending time with the people they care for.

Based on 24 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 & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-10-12 · Report published 2023-10-12 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2023 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. The published report does not include specific detail about night staffing ratios, agency staff use, or falls management. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating suggests concerns identified earlier have been addressed, though the specifics of what changed are not described in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating means inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home manages risk, but the absence of published detail means you cannot confirm from this report alone whether night staffing is adequate or how often agency staff cover shifts. Good Practice research consistently shows that safety tends to slip most at night and during periods of high agency reliance, so these are the two questions worth pressing when you visit. If your parent has dementia or a physical disability, ask specifically how the home monitors and responds to falls, and whether the same core staff work the dementia unit regularly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels and agency staff consistency are among the strongest predictors of whether a care home maintains safe outcomes over time, particularly for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many of the night shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask what the minimum staffing level is after 10pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies a requirement for staff trained in dementia care, but no specific training content, completion rates, or care plan examples are described in the published text. Food quality and dietary arrangements are not specifically referenced. Healthcare access, including GP visits and medication management, was presumably reviewed but no detail is published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality appears in 20.9% of positive family reviews in DCC data, and it is one of the most reliable everyday signals of whether a home genuinely cares about the people who live there. The inspection did not publish specific findings on food, so you will need to find this out yourself. Similarly, dementia training quality varies enormously between homes, even those with a dementia specialism. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans should be living documents, reviewed regularly with family involvement, not paperwork completed at admission and rarely revisited. Ask to see an anonymised example of how a care plan is structured and how often it is updated.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training covering non-verbal communication and person-centred approaches is strongly associated with better outcomes, but training quality differs significantly between providers even when headline completion rates are similar.","watch_out":"Ask what dementia training staff complete and when it was last updated. Request to see the training record for the unit where your parent would live, and ask how recently care plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to contribute."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether residents are treated as individuals. This is the domain most directly linked to the daily experience of the people who live in a home. No specific inspector observations are published, such as whether staff used preferred names, knocked before entering rooms, or moved without hurry. No resident or family quotes are included in the published text for this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in DCC review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good Caring rating is encouraging, but without specific observations published it is not possible to confirm from this report what warmth looks like day to day at Belmont House. When you visit, watch how staff talk to the people who live there in corridors and communal areas, not just in a formal meeting. Notice whether interactions feel unhurried, whether staff use names, and how a member of staff responds if someone appears unsettled or confused.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, tone, and the unhurried pace of staff interactions are as important as verbal communication for people with advanced dementia, and these qualities are observable on a visit without needing to read any documentation.","watch_out":"When you visit, spend at least 20 minutes in a communal area without the manager present. Watch how staff interact with residents who are not speaking to them directly. Notice whether staff sit down to talk with residents or always remain standing, which signals whether interactions feel equal or task-driven."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good, covering activities, individual engagement, response to changing needs, and end-of-life care. The home supports people with dementia and physical disabilities, so meaningful activity tailored to individual ability is particularly important. No specific activity examples, schedules, or individual engagement approaches are described in the published text. How the home involves families in reviews and responds to complaints is not detailed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews in DCC data, and resident happiness, closely linked to meaningful engagement, accounts for 27.1%. For people with dementia particularly, group activities are often insufficient on their own. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that one-to-one engagement and everyday meaningful tasks, not just organised group sessions, are what sustain wellbeing. The published findings do not confirm whether Belmont House offers this level of individual attention. Ask to see the actual activity schedule from last week, not a printed programme, and ask what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or do not want to join a group.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and everyday-task approaches to activity, including familiar household routines, produce stronger wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group entertainment-style activities, particularly for those in later stages.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what would happen for your parent on a day when they were unwell, unsettled, or simply did not want to join a group session. A good answer will describe one-to-one engagement rather than time in a chair in front of a television."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good, and the home has named leadership in place: Mrs Maria Alexandra Stancu as registered manager and Ms Rachel Harvey as nominated individual. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating to a fully Good rating across all five domains is the most significant indicator of leadership effectiveness available in the published text. Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability and the ability of staff to raise concerns are among the strongest predictors of sustained quality. No further detail about management culture, staff feedback mechanisms, or governance processes is published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews in DCC data, and communication with families contributes a further 11.5%. Achieving a full Good rating after a Requires Improvement suggests the current leadership has driven real change, which is meaningful. However, the quality of that leadership is best assessed through conversation and observation rather than ratings alone. Ask the manager directly what the previous inspection found and what specifically changed. A leader who can answer this clearly and without defensiveness is a positive sign. Also ask how long the current manager has been in post, since leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality over time.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability, combined with a culture in which staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, is among the most reliable predictors of whether a care home maintains quality between formal inspections.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at Belmont House, what the previous inspection identified as the areas needing improvement, and what specific changes were made. If the answer is vague or deflects, that is worth noting."}

  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 The home cares for adults of all ages who need nursing support, including younger people with physical disabilities and those living with dementia. They also offer respite stays, with families returning for second visits after positive experiences.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the team focuses on keeping people engaged through activities and one-to-one time. Staff seem to understand the importance of patience and maintaining routines that help residents feel secure. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.