Danesford Grange Care Home

What families say

Based on 3 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth65
• Compassion & dignity65
• Cleanliness60
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare60
• Management & leadership42
• Resident happiness60

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-09 · Report published 2019-01-09 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Safe as Good, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. This indicates inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home manages risk, medicines, and staffing at the time of inspection. The home cares for people with a range of complex needs including dementia and physical disabilities across 41 nursing beds. No specific detail is available in the published summary about falls management, infection control, or night staffing numbers. The previous Requires Improvement suggests safety concerns were present before and have since been addressed, at least to inspection standard.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in safety is reassuring, but the fact that the home previously required improvement here means you should probe what specifically changed. Our family review data shows that 14% of families who write positive reviews specifically mention staff attentiveness u2014 being seen, checked on, responded to quickly. For people with dementia, safety is most fragile at night, when staffing is thinnest and disorientation peaks. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing ratios are where safety most frequently slips, and agency reliance undermines the consistency that people with dementia depend on. Ask directly how many staff are on overnight and how many of those are permanent employees who know your parent by name.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing levels and the consistency of familiar staff are among the strongest predictors of safety outcomes for people with dementia u2014 unfamiliar agency staff increase the risk of missed distress signals and medication errors.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask: 'How many staff are on duty overnight on the dementia unit, and what proportion of those shifts are covered by agency staff rather than permanent employees?' Then ask to see the falls register u2014 not just whether falls are recorded, but what changes were made after the last three incidents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good, suggesting inspectors found satisfactory care planning, training, and healthcare access at the time of the December 2018 inspection. The home's specialisms include dementia, mental health, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, implying a need for staff with a range of clinical competencies. No specific detail is available in the published summary about dementia training content, GP visit frequency, medication management, or how care plans are reviewed. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating suggests that whatever was lacking before has been addressed to inspection standard.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent to receive genuinely effective care, staff need to know them as an individual u2014 not just their diagnosis, but their life history, preferences, and how their condition presents on a bad day. Our family data shows that families who feel their parent is truly known by staff are significantly more likely to report satisfaction. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans should function as living documents, updated regularly and shaped by family input u2014 not filed away after admission. Ask when you visit whether your parent's key worker could tell you, without looking at a file, what your parent likes for breakfast, what music they respond to, and what time they prefer to wake up.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia training focused on person-centred communication u2014 including non-verbal cues and life history u2014 produced measurably better outcomes than generic care training, particularly in reducing distress behaviours and improving mealtime experience.","watch_out":"Ask: 'Can you show me how dementia training is delivered here u2014 is it classroom-based, online, or on-the-job, and how often do staff repeat it?' Then ask to see an example of a care plan structure u2014 does it include personal history, preferred name, daily routines, and communication preferences, or is it primarily clinical?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good, which is the domain most directly relevant to how your parent would be treated day to day. This rating typically reflects inspector observations of staff interactions, responses to residents, and whether people are treated with dignity and respect. No direct quotes from residents or relatives are available in the published summary, and no specific observations of named interactions are cited. The home has consistently maintained or achieved Good in this area, which is a positive signal. However, without verbatim testimony or direct observation notes, it is difficult to assess the depth of warmth and individual attention.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, weighted at 57.3% u2014 and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. Families notice immediately whether staff use their parent's preferred name, whether they make eye contact, whether they speak to them or over them. Good Practice research shows that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 a calm tone, an unhurried touch, a familiar face u2014 matters as much as words. A Good rating here is encouraging, but it was awarded over six years ago. Culture in care homes is fragile and can shift with staff changes, so what you observe on a visit matters more than any historic rating.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies that person-led care u2014 where staff know and respond to individual communication styles, including non-verbal cues u2014 is associated with significantly reduced agitation and distress in people with dementia, and higher reported family confidence in the home.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch what happens in the corridor u2014 not in a staged lounge activity. Do staff make eye contact with your parent as they pass? Do they use their preferred name without prompting? Do they slow down or do they look rushed? These unscripted moments tell you more than any formal presentation."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good, suggesting the home was broadly meeting individual needs and providing an acceptable range of activities and engagement at the time of inspection. The home supports people with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment u2014 a mix that demands a genuinely varied and adaptable approach to activities. No specific detail is available in the published summary about what activities are offered, how they are tailored to individuals, or what provision exists for residents who cannot join group sessions. The Good rating implies inspectors were satisfied at a general level.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that resident happiness u2014 whether your parent seems settled, engaged, and purposeful u2014 is weighted at 27.1%, and activities at 21.4%. The risk in any care home is that 'activities' means a group singalong three times a week, which is fine for some but meaningless for a person with advanced dementia who can no longer follow group settings. Good Practice research is clear that the most effective engagement for people with dementia is one-to-one, familiar, and draws on their life history u2014 folding laundry, tending plants, handling objects from their past. Ask not just what is on the activity timetable, but what happens for your parent on a day when they can't or won't join a group.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that Montessori-based and life-history-informed individual activities u2014 including everyday household tasks and sensory engagement u2014 produced significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group-only programme models.","watch_out":"Ask: 'If my parent can't join a group session u2014 because they're having a difficult day, or because their dementia has progressed u2014 who is responsible for spending one-to-one time with them that day, and what does that look like?' Ask to see the activity records for one resident over the past two weeks."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"Well-led remains rated Requires Improvement u2014 the only domain not to reach Good. This is notable because all other domains improved to Good in this inspection, suggesting that care practice on the ground was better than the governance and leadership systems overseeing it. The registered manager at the time of inspection was Mr Priyantha Uluwita, with Mr Christopher Giles Andrew Rands as nominated individual. No specific detail is available about what governance shortfalls were identified, what action plan was in place, or what progress had been made by the time of the 2023 monitoring review. The 2023 review found no evidence requiring reassessment, but this was a desk-based exercise, not a re-inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership quality is the most powerful predictor of whether a care home's quality holds, improves, or deteriorates over time. Our family data shows that communication with management u2014 being kept informed, feeling heard, having concerns acted on u2014 is a core family priority at 11.5% weighting. Good Practice research consistently finds that homes where staff feel empowered to speak up, where the manager is visible and known by name to families, and where governance is robust enough to catch problems early, perform better over time than those where good care depends on individual staff goodwill. A Requires Improvement in Well-led, combined with a six-year-old inspection, means you have limited visibility of what the leadership culture looks like today.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review identified leadership stability as the strongest single predictor of care quality trajectory u2014 homes with consistent, visible, and values-led management maintained and improved quality ratings; those with instability or governance gaps were more likely to decline between inspections.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How long has the current registered manager been in post, and how many managers has the home had in the past three years?' Then ask: 'Can you tell me one specific thing that changed because of a complaint or concern raised by a resident or family member in the last twelve months?' The answer u2014 or the absence of one u2014 will tell you a great deal."}

  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 team supports residents with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments. They're equipped to care for adults over 65 who need specialized attention for multiple or complex conditions.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the care team provides specialized support tailored to each person's needs. The home accepts residents at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.