Elizabeth House Residential Home

What families say

Some residents speak warmly about the patience and kindness they experience from certain staff members. People mention feeling emotionally supported during their daily care routines, with particular staff taking time to engage in conversation and show genuine interest in residents' wellbeing.

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-12-14 · Report published 2022-12-14 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The April 2025 inspection rated the Safe domain as Good. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home identifies and manages risks. The previous inspection had resulted in an overall Requires Improvement rating, so a return to Good in Safety is a positive development. The published summary does not provide specific detail on night staffing ratios, agency usage, or falls management for this inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is the baseline concern for most families, and a Good rating here after a prior decline is reassuring. However, the Good Practice evidence base from 61 studies is clear that safety can slip most visibly at night, when staffing is lowest. For a 30-bed home with a dementia specialism, night staffing ratios matter enormously. The published inspection findings do not specify how many staff are on overnight, so this is the single most important question to ask before making a decision. Agency staff usage is a related concern: homes that rely heavily on agency cover often struggle with consistency, which matters especially for people with dementia who depend on familiar faces.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing is consistently where safety shortfalls emerge in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the continuity of care that people with dementia need to feel settled and secure.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, covering both day and night shifts. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency, and ask what the minimum overnight staffing level is for the 30 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the April 2025 inspection. This domain covers staff training, the quality and currency of care plans, access to GPs and other healthcare professionals, and nutrition. A Good rating here indicates that inspectors found these areas broadly satisfactory. The published summary does not describe specific training programmes, care plan content, or nutrition arrangements in detail.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families of people with dementia, the Effective domain is where you want to look closely. Good Practice research is clear that care plans should be living documents, updated regularly and reflecting what your parent actually enjoys and needs today, not what was recorded at admission. A Good rating is a positive signal, but the inspection findings available do not confirm how often care plans are reviewed or whether families are invited to contribute. Food quality is also part of this domain, and in our family review data it features in 20.9% of positive reviews when families are satisfied. Ask to see a menu and find out how swallowing difficulties or appetite changes are identified and managed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training, including understanding non-verbal communication and recognising pain in people who cannot report it verbally, makes a measurable difference to the quality of daily care and to how settled residents feel.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether you, as a family member, would be invited to those reviews. Also ask what dementia-specific training all care staff complete and when it was last refreshed."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the April 2025 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity and respect in daily interactions, and how well the home supports residents' independence. A Good rating in Caring is significant: it is the domain most directly connected to how your parent experiences daily life. The published inspection summary does not include direct quotes from residents or relatives, or specific inspector observations of staff interactions.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities: they show up in whether staff use your parent's preferred name, whether they sit down when talking to them, and whether they move at your parent's pace rather than their own. The inspection found this domain to be Good, which is the inspectors' judgement based on what they saw and heard. Because no specific observations are available in the published text, the most reliable thing you can do is visit at a quiet time, not a scheduled tour, and watch how staff behave when they do not know they are being observed.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal communication for people with dementia, and that staff who know a resident's personal history, their former occupation, their preferred music, their name preferences, deliver measurably better person-centred care.","watch_out":"On your visit, find out what name your parent would like to be called and then listen to whether staff use it. Also watch whether staff make eye contact and whether they crouch or sit to be at the same level when speaking to someone who is seated."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the April 2025 inspection. This domain covers how the home tailors its care to individual needs, the range and quality of activities, and end-of-life care. A Good rating here indicates inspectors found the home was meeting people's individual needs. No detail on specific activity programmes, individual engagement approaches, or end-of-life arrangements is available in the published inspection summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"In our family review data, resident happiness features in 27.1% of positive reviews and activities engagement in 21.4%, making this domain central to whether your parent has a good quality of life rather than simply a safe one. Good Practice research is particularly clear that activities for people with dementia need to be tailored to the individual, not just group-based. Everyday tasks such as folding laundry, tending plants, or helping to lay the table can provide more meaningful engagement for some people than organised group sessions. The inspection's Good rating is encouraging, but ask specifically what one-to-one activity provision looks like for people who cannot participate in groups, particularly at more advanced stages of dementia.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented individual activities, rather than group entertainment, produce better outcomes for engagement, mood, and agitation in people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what they would do with your parent on a day when they did not want to join a group session. Ask whether there is a designated budget and time for one-to-one activities, and ask to see the activities record for last month."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the April 2025 inspection. Miss Katrina Sarah Summerscales is registered as both the Registered Manager and the Nominated Individual for the home, indicating she holds formal accountability at both operational and organisational levels. The home had previously received a Requires Improvement rating overall, and the return to Good across all domains suggests the leadership responded effectively to earlier concerns. The published inspection summary does not describe the specific governance arrangements, staff culture, or quality assurance processes observed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence base. The fact that the same named manager appears to be in post and has overseen a recovery from Requires Improvement to Good is a meaningful positive signal. In our family review data, management and leadership feature in 23.4% of positive reviews, and communication with families in 11.5%. Neither of these is covered in specific detail in the published findings. Ask how long the current manager has been in post, whether staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and how the home communicates with families when something changes.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality, and that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear of reprisal consistently perform better on person-centred care outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post and what specific changes were made after the previous Requires Improvement rating. Also ask how a family member would raise a concern and what happens next, step by step."}

  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 home specialises in caring for adults under 65 with mental health conditions, alongside their established dementia care services. They also provide general care for older adults, offering both long-term residency and shorter respite stays.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, Elizabeth House offers dedicated support from staff with sector experience. The management team emphasises person-centred approaches to dementia care, recognising that each resident's needs are unique. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.