Durham House

What families say

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-02-22 · Report published 2020-02-22 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Safety as Good at Durham House. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and safeguarding. A Good rating means inspectors judged these areas to be meeting expected standards at the time of the visit. However, no specific detail u2014 such as staffing numbers per shift, falls data, or medication error rates u2014 is available in the published report text. The inspection was carried out in November 2020.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is a reasonable baseline, but for families considering a dementia placement, the detail matters enormously. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety slips most often u2014 homes that are adequately staffed during the day can be very thinly covered overnight. With 31 beds and a mixed client group including people with dementia and physical disabilities, you need to know how many permanent staff are on the unit after 8pm, and whether agency staff regularly cover nights. The 2026 Good Practice evidence base also identifies high agency reliance as one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent care for people with dementia, because familiar faces are not just comforting u2014 they are how subtle changes in health or behaviour get noticed early.","evidence_base":"IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) found that agency reliance is one of the strongest predictors of poor safety outcomes in dementia care, and that night staffing ratios are where the gap between rated and experienced safety is widest.","watch_out":"Ask directly: how many staff are on duty overnight, and what proportion of night shifts in the last month were covered by permanent staff rather than agency workers?"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good, covering care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition. This means inspectors were satisfied that care plans were in place, staff had appropriate training, and residents' health needs were being met. Dementia is listed as a specialism of the home, which implies a degree of dedicated staff capability. However, no detail on training content, care plan review frequency, GP access arrangements, or food quality is available in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent living with dementia, 'effective' care is not just about ticking boxes u2014 it is about whether staff truly understand how dementia progresses and can adapt their approach as your parent's needs change. Good Practice research identifies care plans as 'living documents' that should be reviewed at least monthly and updated whenever there is a significant change, not just filed away. Dementia training varies enormously between homes: some offer only basic awareness sessions, while others train staff in specific approaches such as person-centred care, validation techniques, or Montessori-based activities. Ask specifically what dementia training staff have completed, not just whether training exists. Nutrition is also a key indicator u2014 weight loss in people with dementia is often an early sign that something is wrong, and how a home monitors and responds to this tells you a great deal about the quality of its care.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett / IFF evidence review found that dementia-specific training significantly improves staff confidence in managing behavioural expressions of unmet need, reducing both the use of PRN medication and incidents of distress.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example care plan (anonymised) and ask how often plans are reviewed u2014 and specifically what happens when your parent's needs or behaviour change between scheduled reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. This is the domain that most directly reflects whether your parent will feel valued and treated as an individual. A Good rating means inspectors observed interactions they judged to be respectful and person-centred. However, the available report text includes no direct observations of staff interactions, no resident or family quotes, and no specific examples u2014 which means it is not possible to verify the texture of daily care from the published evidence alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Caring is the most important domain for families, and data from 3,602 positive Google reviews across UK care homes shows that staff warmth (57.3%) and compassion and dignity (55.2%) are the two factors families mention most when describing what makes a placement work. The research is clear that for people with dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 tone of voice, eye contact, unhurried touch u2014 matters as much as what is said. A home where staff genuinely know your parent's history, preferences, and what makes them laugh is a fundamentally different place from one that is merely polite. The absence of specific evidence in this report means you need to gather your own evidence on a visit: watch how staff greet your parent, whether they use their preferred name, and whether interactions feel rushed or genuinely present.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research consistently finds that person-led care u2014 where staff know the individual's life history and preferences u2014 significantly reduces expressions of distress in people with dementia and improves overall wellbeing.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch one corridor interaction between a staff member and a resident: does the staff member stop, make eye contact, use the resident's preferred name, and take their time u2014 or does the interaction feel task-focused and hurried?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good, covering activities, engagement, individuality, and end-of-life care. This means inspectors were satisfied that the home was meeting residents' individual needs and preferences, and that activities were available. With dementia as a listed specialism and a relatively small home of 31 beds, there is potential for genuinely personalised engagement. However, no specific activities are described, no individual activity plans are referenced, and no information about end-of-life care practices is available in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent with dementia, meaningful activity is not a luxury u2014 it is directly linked to wellbeing, reduced agitation, and slower cognitive decline. Data from UK family reviews shows that activities and engagement matter to 21.4% of families when describing what makes a care home work. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that group activities alone are insufficient: people with more advanced dementia often cannot participate in group settings and need one-to-one engagement tailored to their history and abilities u2014 whether that is folding laundry, looking through photographs, or tending plants. A 31-bed home has the advantage of scale: it is small enough that your parent should not simply disappear into a group programme. Ask specifically what would happen on a Tuesday afternoon if your parent did not want to join the group activity.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based and life-history approaches to individual activity significantly reduced expressions of boredom and agitation in people with moderate to advanced dementia, particularly outside structured group sessions.","watch_out":"Ask: what does a member of staff do if your parent is sitting alone and not engaged u2014 is there a specific plan for one-to-one activity, and who is responsible for initiating it?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Good, and the home has a named registered manager, Mrs Tina Ayton, and a nominated individual, Mr Jon Paul Oates. A Good rating in Well-led means inspectors were satisfied with governance, culture, and accountability systems. A monitoring review in July 2023 u2014 over two years after the inspection u2014 found no reason to change the rating. However, no specific evidence about management visibility, staff empowerment, or how the home responds to complaints and incidents is available in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is a strong predictor of the overall trajectory of a care home. Good Practice research identifies leadership stability as one of the clearest markers of sustained quality u2014 homes where the registered manager has been in post for several years, is known to staff and families, and is visibly present on the floor rather than office-bound tend to perform consistently better over time. A July 2023 monitoring review that maintained the Good rating is modestly reassuring, but it was not a full inspection, and the original inspection evidence is now more than four years old. For families, the key question is whether the manager you meet on a visit matches the culture you see around you u2014 whether staff seem confident, speak positively about their workplace, and feel able to raise concerns. Family review data shows that communication with families (11.5%) is a consistent marker of well-led homes: good managers keep families informed proactively, not just when something goes wrong.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research identifies manager tenure and bottom-up staff empowerment as the two most reliable predictors of sustained quality in care homes u2014 homes where staff feel able to speak up and where the manager is known to residents perform significantly better on family satisfaction measures.","watch_out":"Ask how long Mrs Tina Ayton has been registered manager at this home, and ask staff on the floor u2014 not in a formal setting u2014 what it is like to work there and whether they feel their concerns are listened to."}

  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 at Durham House has experience caring for people with dementia and those living with physical disabilities. They support both younger adults under 65 who need residential care and older residents over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the home provides specialist care tailored to individual needs. The team understands the importance of creating a supportive environment for those living with memory-related conditions. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.