Falstone Court and Falstone Manor Care Home

What families say

Based on 15 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth85
• Compassion & dignity88
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement80
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness78

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-24 · Report published 2019-05-24 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Falstone Court received a Good rating for safe at its October 2020 inspection. This indicates that inspectors were satisfied with staffing levels, medicines management, and the overall safety of the environment at that time. The home provides nursing care across 40 beds, with dementia listed as a specialism, which means safe management of complex health needs is essential. The published summary does not include specific detail on night staffing ratios, falls management, or agency staff use. A desk-based review in July 2023 found no evidence that the rating needed to change.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safe is reassuring, but it is worth remembering that safety in a nursing home with dementia residents depends heavily on what happens after 8pm, when staffing levels typically fall and incidents are more likely. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most at risk in care homes. The published summary does not tell us how many permanent staff are on the dementia unit overnight, which is exactly the question to ask directly. Family review data shows that attentiveness of staff (14% of positive reviews mention it explicitly) is closely linked to how safe families feel their parent is.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (2026) identifies night staffing ratios and reliance on agency staff as the two variables most strongly associated with safety incidents in care homes. Neither is addressed in the published findings for Falstone Court.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the dementia unit last week, not the planned template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency names on night shifts, and ask what the minimum staffing level is on the unit between 10pm and 6am."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Falstone Court received a Good rating for effective at its October 2020 inspection. This covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and food. The home offers nursing care, which means qualified nurses are present and health monitoring is part of daily practice. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which implies staff should have relevant training, though the published summary does not describe training content or frequency. Specific detail on care plan quality, GP access arrangements, or food and nutrition is not available in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for effective means inspectors were broadly satisfied that staff knew what they were doing, but it is worth probing the dementia-specific training in more detail. Good Practice research shows that dementia training quality varies considerably between homes, even where a Good rating has been awarded. Care plans should be living documents, reviewed regularly and updated as your parent's needs change, not completed once at admission and filed away. Food quality is consistently mentioned in 20.9% of positive family reviews, yet it is one of the areas the published summary does not address. Ask to see a sample menu and, if possible, observe a mealtime.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research, 2026) identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed with families regularly. Homes where families are actively involved in care planning tend to have better outcomes for people with dementia, including lower rates of avoidable deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask the manager when care plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to take part. Then ask specifically: what dementia training have staff completed in the last 12 months, and can you tell me what that training covered in practice?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Falstone Court received an Outstanding rating for caring, the highest possible grade. This rating is only awarded when inspectors find direct, specific evidence of warm, respectful, and compassionate interactions, not just procedures on paper. An Outstanding caring rating requires observations of staff treating the people who live here as individuals, using preferred names, respecting privacy, and responding to distress with patience. The published summary does not reproduce specific quotes or scenes, but the rating itself is a strong signal. This is the highest-weight theme in the DCC Family Score, reflecting what families consistently say matters most.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth and compassion together account for over 55% of what drives positive family reviews in our data. When an inspector awards Outstanding for caring, they have seen something beyond procedural compliance: staff who know your mum's name, her preferences, and how to calm her when she is distressed. Good Practice research shows that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people with advanced dementia. The way a carer enters a room, whether they make eye contact, whether they move without hurry, tells you more than any policy document. This is the area where Falstone Court has the strongest evidence base, and it is worth testing on your visit by watching interactions in corridors and communal spaces.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review (2026) confirms that person-led care requires genuine knowledge of the individual, not just a completed care plan. Staff who use a resident's preferred name and know their life history produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes in people with dementia.","watch_out":"When you visit, do not just observe the room you are shown into. Ask if you can walk through a communal area or corridor during a time when staff are busy, and watch whether staff make eye contact with residents, use their names, and stop rather than walk past. These small moments are the most reliable indicators of a caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Falstone Court received an Outstanding rating for responsive, which covers activities, individual engagement, and how well the home adapts its approach to each person's needs and preferences. An Outstanding responsive rating requires evidence of a varied and meaningful activity programme, including engagement for people who cannot participate in group activities, and of care that reflects each person's individual history and identity. The published summary confirms the rating but does not reproduce specific examples of activities or individual care approaches. End-of-life planning is typically assessed within this domain, though specific findings are not available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for nearly 50% of what families mention in positive reviews, and an Outstanding responsive rating is one of the strongest signals that a home takes individuality seriously. Good Practice research shows that tailored one-to-one activities, rather than group sessions alone, are particularly important for people with advanced dementia who may not be able to join in communal events. Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks are among the evidence-based methods that produce the best wellbeing outcomes. Ask specifically whether your parent would have access to individual engagement time, not just group activities, because this is where the difference between a good home and an outstanding one is most visible in practice.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (IFF Research, 2026) identifies tailored individual activities as a key differentiator for people with dementia. Group-only programmes are associated with poorer engagement for residents with moderate to advanced dementia, while homes that invest in one-to-one time show better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for last week, not a printed brochure. Then ask: what happens for a resident with dementia who cannot join a group session? Who provides one-to-one engagement, and how much time does each person receive each day?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Falstone Court received a Good rating for well-led at its October 2020 inspection. The home has a named registered manager (Mrs Emma Louise Hindmarsh) and a nominated individual (Ms Anna Gretchen Selby), both registered with the regulator. The home is operated by HC-One Limited, one of the larger care home operators in the UK. A Good rating for well-led indicates inspectors were satisfied with governance, accountability, and the overall management culture at the time of inspection. The published summary does not include detail on manager tenure, staff turnover, or whether staff feel able to speak up.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in care homes. Good Practice research shows that homes where the manager has been in post consistently, and where staff feel empowered to raise concerns, tend to sustain high ratings over time. A Good well-led rating is positive, but it is worth asking how long the current manager has been in post and whether there have been significant staffing changes since the 2020 inspection. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive family reviews, yet this area is not described in the published summary. Ask the manager directly how they would contact you if your parent's condition changed, and how quickly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review (2026) identifies leadership stability as the variable most strongly associated with sustained quality in care homes. Homes with frequent management changes, or where staff feel unable to raise concerns, show declining quality even when they hold a positive rating.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post at Falstone Court, and what has changed in the staff team since the 2020 inspection? If there has been significant turnover, ask how the home managed continuity of care for residents during that period."}

  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 provides residential care for adults over 65, with specialist dementia support available. They also accommodate younger adults who need residential care.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team works to understand individual needs and preferences. The home has recently strengthened its safety measures, including updated door security systems. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.