OSJCT Farnham Common House

What families say

Families often mention the approachable nature of the care team here. Visitors say they feel welcomed when they arrive, and the home encourages family involvement in their loved ones' daily lives.

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-03-06 · Report published 2019-03-06 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2019 inspection. This rating covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and the reporting of incidents and accidents. No specific observations, ratios, or examples were published in the available inspection summary. A review conducted in July 2023 did not find evidence requiring a change to this rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring as a starting point, but the absence of specific published detail means you cannot rely on the inspection alone to answer your most pressing questions. Good Practice research consistently finds that night staffing is where safety most often slips in care homes, and that homes relying heavily on agency staff find it harder to maintain consistent, safe care. With a 50-bed home specialising in dementia, you need to know how many permanent staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm and how often agency workers cover those shifts. The inspection finding alone does not answer this.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent safety in care homes, because agency workers are less familiar with individual residents and less likely to notice subtle changes in condition.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts on the dementia unit were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, particularly overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the February 2019 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition. No specific observations about the content of care plans, the frequency of GP visits, the detail of dementia training, or the quality of food were published in the available summary. The July 2023 review did not prompt reassessment.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality and care plan personalisation are among the things families notice most clearly and care about most. Our review data, drawn from 3,602 positive reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes, shows that food quality features in 20.9% of all positive mentions, and that dementia-specific care appears in 12.7%. A Good rating in this domain is a positive signal, but the lack of specific published detail means you need to test these areas yourself. Ask whether your parent's care plan will record their life history, personal preferences, and communication style, and ask to see a current menu with evidence of how dietary needs are adapted.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function as living documents only when they are regularly updated with family input. Homes that review plans less than quarterly, or that do not involve families in reviews, are more likely to miss significant changes in a resident's needs or preferences.","watch_out":"Ask how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether you will be invited to contribute. Then ask to see the dementia training log for care staff, specifically what the training covers and when each staff member last completed it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the February 2019 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and support for independence. No specific inspector observations, such as whether staff knocked before entering rooms, used preferred names, or moved without rushing residents, were published in the available summary. The July 2023 review found no evidence requiring a change.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, appearing in 57.3% of all positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for a further 55.2%. These are the things families feel most acutely and remember longest. The inspection rated this domain Good, which is meaningful, but the absence of specific published observations means you must see this for yourself. Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with dementia: watch whether staff make eye contact, crouch to eye level, and move at the resident's pace rather than their own.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know individuals well, including their history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff know residents' preferred names and life stories show measurably better emotional wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch an unscripted interaction between a staff member and a resident in a corridor or communal area. Does the staff member use the resident's preferred name, make eye contact, and move without hurrying? Ask a carer what your parent's preferred name would be and how they would know it."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the February 2019 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, responsiveness to preferences, and end-of-life care planning. No specific detail about the activity programme, one-to-one engagement, or how care is tailored to individual interests was published in the available summary. The July 2023 review did not require reassessment.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness features in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities and engagement account for 21.4%. For a parent living with dementia, the question is not just whether group activities are available but whether someone will sit with them individually when they cannot join a group. Good Practice research is clear that tailored individual activities, including everyday tasks such as folding, sorting, or simple gardening, support dignity and reduce distress far more than large group sessions alone. The published findings do not tell you whether this home does this well. You need to ask and observe.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and individual activity approaches, which draw on familiar tasks from a person's earlier life, produce measurably better engagement and lower levels of distress in people with advanced dementia compared to group activities alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what they would do with a resident who cannot join a group session because they are having a difficult day. Then ask to see the activity records for one resident over the past month to check whether one-to-one engagement is actually happening, not just planned."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the February 2019 inspection. This domain covers management visibility, governance, staff culture, learning from incidents, and accountability. The home is run by The Fremantle Trust. No specific observations about the manager's presence, staff ability to raise concerns, or examples of improvements made following incidents were published in the available summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is the single strongest predictor of whether a care home's quality is stable, improving, or declining. Our review data shows that visible, named management features in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and Good Practice research confirms that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory. The home has a nominated individual on record, but the inspection was over six years ago and the published summary contains no detail about management culture or staff empowerment. How long the current manager has been in post, and whether staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, are questions you cannot answer from the published findings alone.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care homes where staff report being able to raise concerns openly, and where managers are consistently visible on the floor rather than office-based, show significantly better outcomes for residents with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at this home specifically, not just with The Fremantle Trust. Then ask what change they made in the past six months as a result of a complaint or incident. A specific, honest answer suggests a learning culture; a vague or defensive one does not."}

  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 focuses on caring for adults over 65, with particular experience in dementia support.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the team provides specialised care tailored to individual needs. The home's approach to dementia care forms a central part of their service. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.