Coppermill Care Centre

What families say

Families talk about residents rediscovering interests they'd lost — joining activities, chatting with others, even putting on healthy weight after months of struggle at home. There's something about the atmosphere that helps people relax into their new routines, especially those who've had difficult experiences elsewhere.

Based on 13 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement62
• Food quality62
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-03-23 · Report published 2023-03-23 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Safe at its February 2023 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This improvement indicates that inspectors found the home had addressed whatever safety concerns existed previously. The home supports people with dementia, sensory impairment, and other needs across 52 beds. No specific observations about medicines management, falls, infection control, or staffing ratios appear in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A move from Requires Improvement to Good in the Safe domain is genuinely reassuring, because it means inspectors returned and found real change rather than promises. That said, our Good Practice evidence highlights that safety most often slips at night and during staff changeovers, and the published text gives you no detail about night staffing ratios or how much the home relies on agency cover. Cleanliness is the fourth most mentioned theme in our family review data (24.3% of positive reviews cite it directly), yet the inspection text contains no specific observations about hygiene or infection control at this home. You will need to assess these things yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent safety in care homes, because unfamiliar staff are less likely to notice changes in a person's condition or to follow home-specific protocols.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how many permanent, named staff are on duty on the dementia unit after 8pm on a typical weeknight, and ask what proportion of shifts in the last month were covered by agency staff rather than the regular team."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Inspectors rated the home Good for Effective at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, nutrition, healthcare access, and how well the home uses information about each person to shape their care. Dementia is a listed specialism, meaning the inspection would have considered whether staff training and care planning were appropriate for people living with dementia. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, GP visit frequency, or mealtime observations appears in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home plans and delivers care, but it does not tell you whether your mum's care plan would actually reflect who she is, what she likes to eat, or how she prefers to start her day. Our Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated after every significant change in a person's condition, and families should be invited to contribute. Food quality appears in 20.9% of positive family reviews, making it one of the clearest signals of genuine care. Ask to see an example care plan (anonymised is fine) and to watch a mealtime in progress.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that dementia-specific training which goes beyond basic awareness, covering non-verbal communication, behaviour as expression of need, and meaningful occupation, is consistently associated with better outcomes for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months, whether it was classroom-based or online only, and how often care plans are formally reviewed with family members present."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home achieved a Good rating for Caring at its February 2023 inspection. This domain directly assesses whether staff are kind, whether people are treated with dignity, and whether individuals retain as much independence as possible. A Good rating here means inspectors were satisfied that the standard of human interaction they observed met the required level. No specific quotes from residents or relatives, and no direct inspector observations about staff behaviour or interactions, appear in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is by far the most important theme in our family review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. The Good Caring rating is therefore the most significant positive signal in this report for most families. However, because the inspection text contains no specific observations, you cannot yet know whether staff use your dad's preferred name, whether they knock before entering his room, or whether they move at his pace rather than theirs. These are things you can only assess by visiting at different times of day, including a mealtime.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review confirms that non-verbal communication, tone of voice, unhurried pace, and physical closeness, matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia, and that these behaviours are the clearest observable signal of a genuinely caring culture.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff pass people in corridors or common areas: do they stop, make eye contact, and speak at the person's level, or do they walk past without acknowledgement? This is one of the most reliable indicators of everyday caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Responsive at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers whether the home meets individual needs, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether complaints are handled well. The home lists dementia and sensory impairment as specialisms, which places specific demands on responsiveness, particularly around communication and tailored engagement. No specific activities, examples of individual life history work, complaint outcomes, or descriptions of how the home adapts to changing needs appear in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness and contentment appears in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities are cited in 21.4%. A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but the published text cannot tell you whether your parent would spend most of the day in a chair watching television or whether staff would find ways to engage her meaningfully, including one-to-one time if she cannot join group sessions. Our Good Practice evidence highlights that for people with advanced dementia, individual engagement based on life history (familiar music, household tasks, sensory activities) is far more effective than group activities alone.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks used as meaningful occupation, rather than scheduled group entertainment, produce the strongest outcomes for wellbeing in people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what a typical day looks like for a resident who cannot join a group session due to advanced dementia or mobility difficulties. The answer will tell you whether individual engagement is genuinely planned or an afterthought."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home achieved a Good rating for Well-led at the February 2023 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A named registered manager (Mr Solomon Amartey Vanderpuye) and a nominated individual are recorded, indicating a clear and accountable leadership structure. The improvement from Requires Improvement across all domains suggests leadership had driven real change in the period between inspections. No specific detail about the manager's visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how complaints and incidents are reviewed appears in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality appears in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and our Good Practice evidence consistently shows that leadership stability predicts quality over time. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good across every domain is a positive signal about the quality of leadership, because inspectors do not award that rating without evidence of sustained change. What you cannot yet know is whether the registered manager is a visible daily presence or a name on the certificate. Ask how long the current manager has been in post and whether the team has been stable during the improvement period.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that leadership stability, specifically a consistent registered manager who is known to staff and residents, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality improvement in care homes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post, what the main changes were since the previous Requires Improvement rating, and how staff are encouraged to raise concerns without fear of consequences. A manager who can answer these questions specifically and without hesitation is a good sign."}

  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 centre supports people with sensory impairments and provides specialist dementia care, welcoming both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the team focuses on maintaining routines that feel familiar and encouraging participation in daily life. Staff work to understand each person's individual patterns and preferences. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.