Dementia Care Home

Eastham Care Home | Runwood Homes Senior Living

Main Road, Woodham Ferrers, Essex, CM3 8RF

Residential homes

At a Glance

The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.

DCC Family Score
74/ 100
Weighted from family reviews
Dementia SpecialismConfirmed

Residential homes

Families Rate The Staff55 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”55%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds25
  • SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
  • Last inspected2023-02-08

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The Evidence

What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.

Section 01

What families say

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth55
  • Compassion & dignity55
  • Cleanliness60
  • Activities & engagement55
  • Food quality55
  • Healthcare60
  • Management & leadership65
  • Resident happiness55
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-02-08

  • Is this home safe?

    Not yet rated
    The Safe domain is rated 'Good' at the most recent inspection, a step up from the previous inspection cycle when the overall rating was 'Requires Improvement'. This indicates inspectors did not find significant concerns around staffing levels, medicines management, or infection control at the time of the visit. No specific incidents, safeguarding concerns, or staffing shortfalls are referenced in the available report text. The home is a 25-bed residential (not nursing) service, which means no registered nurses are required on site — personal care is the core offer.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Not yet rated
    The Effective domain is rated 'Good', suggesting inspectors were satisfied with care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition at the time of the visit. The home lists dementia as a specialism alongside physical disabilities and sensory impairment, which implies some tailoring of care approach is expected. No specific detail about dementia training content, GP visit frequency, medication review processes, or food quality observations is available in the published report text. The previous 'Requires Improvement' period means it is worth checking what specifically has changed.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Not yet rated
    The Caring domain is rated 'Good', meaning inspectors were satisfied that staff treat people with dignity and respect, respond to their needs, and support independence where possible. For a home that also cares for people under 65 and those with sensory impairment alongside dementia, this breadth of need makes consistent kindness harder to sustain. No direct observations of staff-resident interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives about their experience, and no specific dignity examples are available in the published report text.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Not yet rated
    The Responsive domain is rated 'Good', indicating inspectors found the home responsive to residents' individual needs, including activities provision, complaint handling, and end-of-life planning. Eastham is a small home with 25 beds, which can be an advantage for personalisation — fewer people means staff can potentially know each person better. No detail about specific activities, their frequency, whether one-to-one engagement is provided for people who cannot join group sessions, or how complaints are handled, is available from the published report text.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Not yet rated
    The Well-led domain is rated 'Good', meaning inspectors were satisfied with the home's governance, culture, and leadership at the time of the visit. A named registered manager (Miss Karolyn Frances Sisto) and nominated individual (Dr Gavin O'Hare-Connolly) are recorded, suggesting leadership accountability is formally in place. The previous 'Requires Improvement' rating means there was a period of underperformance, and the move back to 'Good' indicates recovery — but the stability of that improvement is not something the current report text can confirm. The home is operated by Runwood Homes Limited, a larger provider group.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    The home provides specialist support for people living with dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They're also set up to care for younger adults under 65 who need residential support. While dementia care is one of their specialisms, the home takes a person-centred approach that focuses on keeping residents feeling safe and comfortable throughout their stay. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.

The DCC Verdict

Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.

74/ 100

DCC Family Score

Eastham has moved from a 'Requires Improvement' rating to 'Good' across all five domains in its most recent inspection, which is a meaningful positive shift — but the inspection report provided contains very limited detail, so scores reflect the rating uplift rather than rich observed evidence.

Homes in East typically score 68–82.
DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Eastham, a 25-bed residential home in Woodham Ferrers run by Runwood Homes Limited, was rated 'Good' across all five inspection domains in its most recent assessment (published May 2024). This is a genuine improvement on a previous 'Requires Improvement' overall rating, and it means inspectors found the home safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led at the time of their visit. That turnaround matters: it suggests the registered manager and provider have addressed whatever caused the earlier decline. The main limitation here is practical rather than concerning: the published report text provided for this analysis contains almost no narrative detail — no inspector observations, no resident or family quotes, no specific examples of what 'Good' looks like day to day at Eastham. The rating is real and positive, but you should treat it as a starting point, not a full picture. On your visit, ask specifically: how many permanent care staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm, and what proportion of shifts are covered by agency workers? Those two questions will tell you more about consistency of care than any headline rating.

The three questions to ask when you visit

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In Their Own Words

How Eastham Care Home | Runwood Homes Senior Living describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Eastham Care Home | Runwood Homes Senior Living says about itself

Flexible care that adapts to what families need

Dedicated residential home Support in Woodham Ferrers

When you're looking for somewhere that genuinely listens to what matters most, Eastham in Woodham Ferrers stands out for its flexible approach. This East England care home specialises in supporting people with sensory impairments, physical disabilities and dementia, welcoming both younger adults under 65 and older residents.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    The home provides specialist support for people living with dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They're also set up to care for younger adults under 65 who need residential support.

    How they describe their dementia care

    While dementia care is one of their specialisms, the home takes a person-centred approach that focuses on keeping residents feeling safe and comfortable throughout their stay.

    “If you're considering Eastham, it's worth arranging a visit to see how their flexible approach might work for your family.”

    DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.

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