Cross Park House

What families say

When families first arrive, they're finding staff who take time to help with care arrangements. People describe the team as caring and engaged — the kind of people you'd want looking after your parent.

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth70
• Compassion & dignity70
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-05-31 · Report published 2022-05-31 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, safeguarding, and infection control. The published summary does not include specific detail about how these were assessed or what evidence inspectors reviewed. No concerns or requirements for improvement were identified. The rating has remained stable since the previous inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe means inspectors were satisfied that your parent would not face obvious risks from poor staffing, unsafe medication practice, or inadequate safeguarding at the time of the inspection. However, the Good Practice evidence base flags night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in small residential homes. With 23 beds, this home is small enough that a single absent staff member overnight could meaningfully affect the ratio. The report gives you no detail about how many staff are on at night or how much of the rota relies on agency workers. This is the most important gap to fill before you make a decision.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that in smaller care homes, night staffing ratios and reliance on agency staff are the factors most associated with safety incidents going undetected. Consistency of staff is particularly important for people with dementia, who respond poorly to unfamiliar faces.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many staff are on duty overnight on the dementia unit, and what percentage of shifts in the last three months were covered by agency or bank staff rather than permanent employees?"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers care planning, dementia training, food and nutrition, and access to healthcare professionals including GPs. No specific findings are described in the published summary. Dementia is listed as a formal specialism for this home, which implies a commitment to relevant staff training and tailored care approaches. No areas requiring improvement were identified.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Effective suggests your parent's care plan would be developed and maintained to an acceptable standard, and that staff have received the training required for working with people living with dementia. However, there is a significant difference between training that ticks a compliance box and training that changes how a staff member actually responds when your mum is distressed at 2am. The published report does not tell you which type this home provides. Food quality, which our family review data shows matters to 20.9% of families rating care homes, is also unaddressed. Ask to see a sample menu and, if possible, visit at lunchtime.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that care plans function best as genuinely living documents, updated after every significant change in a person's condition, with family input at each review. Homes that involve families in care planning consistently produce better outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and ask how often plans are reviewed, whether family members are invited to those reviews, and what specific dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth and compassion, dignity and privacy, and whether residents are treated as individuals. It is the domain most directly connected to the quality of daily life for your parent. No specific inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative comments are recorded in the published summary. No concerns were identified.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth and compassion are the single most important factors in our family review data, cited by 57.3% of families in positive reviews. A Good rating in Caring is therefore meaningful, but the absence of any specific detail in this report means you cannot rely on it alone. The Good Practice evidence base emphasises that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication matters as much as words: tone of voice, unhurried pace, eye contact, and use of preferred names are the markers of genuine person-centred care. These things are invisible in an inspection summary but very visible on a visit. When you go, watch how staff greet your parent in a corridor when they think no one is looking.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that in dementia care, the quality of moment-to-moment interaction between staff and residents is a stronger predictor of wellbeing than any formal care planning document. Homes where staff use preferred names and respond to non-verbal cues consistently produce lower levels of distress in residents.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name, make eye contact, and speak at an unhurried pace. Ask the manager what name your mum or dad would be called, and how that preference would be recorded and communicated to all staff including those on night shifts."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether activities are meaningful and tailored to individuals, whether the home responds to changing needs, and whether end-of-life care is planned. No specific examples of activities, individual engagement approaches, or end-of-life arrangements are described in the published summary. No concerns were identified.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement matter to 21.4% of families in our review data, and resident happiness, closely linked to daily engagement, is cited by 27.1%. For someone with dementia, the question is not just whether the home has a weekly schedule but whether your parent, on a difficult morning when they cannot join a group, would have someone sit with them and do something meaningful together. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that one-to-one engagement and familiar everyday tasks, folding laundry, arranging flowers, handling familiar objects, are often more effective for people with moderate to advanced dementia than organised group activities. The report tells you nothing about this. It is one of the most important questions to ask.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and everyday-task approaches to activity, where individuals engage with familiar, purposeful activities rather than passive entertainment, significantly reduce agitation and improve wellbeing in people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activity coordinator (or the manager, if there is no dedicated coordinator): what would happen on a day when your parent cannot join a group session? Who would spend time with them individually, and what might they do together?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether the manager is visible and supportive, whether governance systems are in place, and whether the home learns from incidents and complaints. The nominated individual is Mrs Dawn Sandra Stone of Stonehaven (Healthcare) Ltd, suggesting an owner-led model. The overall rating has been stable across two inspections. No specific leadership observations or governance examples are described in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of consistent care quality in residential homes. An owner-led home can mean the person in charge has a deep personal investment in the home's reputation, which is often a positive sign for families. Our family review data shows that 23.4% of positive reviews specifically mention management, and 11.5% mention communication with families as a key strength. However, the inspection report tells you nothing about manager tenure, staff turnover, or how families are kept informed. With an inspection now three years old, it is worth asking directly whether the same manager is still in post and whether there have been significant staffing changes since 2022.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality trajectory in small residential homes. Homes with consistent managers tend to have lower staff turnover, which in turn produces better outcomes for people with dementia who depend on familiar faces.","watch_out":"Ask whether the same manager has been in post since the 2022 inspection, how long most permanent care staff have worked at the home, and how the home would contact you if there was a significant change in your parent's condition overnight."}

  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 Cross Park House looks after people over 65, including those living with dementia or physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on While the home welcomes people with dementia, you'll want to ask about their specific approach and what daily life looks like for residents with memory challenges. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.