Havengore House Residential Care Home

What families say

Visitors frequently mention the caring nature of the staff team, describing them as compassionate and professional in their approach. The atmosphere feels pleasant and welcoming, with residents appearing happy during family visits. There's a programme of activities including visiting entertainers and birthday celebrations that helps create moments of joy.

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth65
• Compassion & dignity65
• Cleanliness65
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare60
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness60

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-02-17 · Report published 2022-02-17 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so this represents a confirmed improvement in safety standards. The published report does not include specific detail on staffing ratios, falls management, medicines handling, or infection control practices. No safety concerns were recorded by inspectors at this visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Safe rating after a period of Requires Improvement is genuinely meaningful. It indicates that inspectors found the home had addressed whatever safety shortcomings were previously identified. However, the absence of published detail means you cannot verify the specifics from this report alone. Good Practice evidence is clear that night staffing is where safety most commonly slips in smaller residential homes: 31 beds is a size where night cover can be thin. Ask directly how many staff are on duty overnight and whether they have dementia-specific training.","evidence_base":"Research from the IFF and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) found that agency staff reliance undermines consistency of care, and that learning from incidents is one of the strongest markers of a genuinely safe home. Neither of these areas is described in the published inspection, so they are worth raising directly.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, including night shifts. Count the number of permanent staff names versus agency names, and ask what the minimum staffing level is overnight for 31 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities are all listed as registered specialisms, which means the home has declared competence in these areas to the regulator. The published report does not include specific detail on care plan quality, dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or food and nutrition practices.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Effective means inspectors were satisfied that the home knows what it is doing, but the lack of published detail makes it hard to assess how well dementia care specifically is delivered. Our Good Practice evidence base (61 studies, March 2026) is consistent on one point: dementia training that goes beyond basic awareness, covering communication, behaviour, and person-centred approaches, produces measurably better outcomes for residents. Ask the home what dementia training staff complete, how recently it was updated, and whether any staff hold a dementia-specific qualification. Food quality is also a marker of genuine care and is mentioned in 20.9% of positive family reviews: ask to see a sample menu and whether residents can request alternatives.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans functioning as living documents, updated regularly with family input, are one of the strongest predictors of effective, person-centred dementia care. The inspection does not describe care plan quality here, so this is an important area to explore directly.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example care plan (anonymised is fine) and ask how often they are reviewed. Find out whether families are invited to contribute to reviews and how recently your parent's plan would be updated after a change in their condition."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. No specific inspector observations of staff interactions, resident testimony, or examples of dignity and respect in practice are included in the published report. The home supports adults with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, all of which require attentive, respectful care.","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 follow closely at 55.2%. The Good rating here is encouraging, but without published observations or resident quotes, you cannot rely on the inspection alone to judge this. The most reliable way to assess this is to watch what happens in corridors and communal spaces during your visit: do staff make eye contact, use your parent's preferred name, and move without hurry? Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal for people with dementia, and unhurried interactions are a direct signal of adequate staffing and a positive culture.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff can describe the person behind the diagnosis, not just the diagnosis itself, consistently produce better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"During your visit, ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name would be and how they would find that out. Watch whether staff knock before entering rooms and whether they explain what they are doing during care tasks."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. No specific detail on activity programmes, individual engagement, complaint handling, or end-of-life planning is included in the published report. The home supports people with a range of conditions that require tailored, responsive approaches to daily life.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are mentioned in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. A Good rating here is positive, but the absence of any published detail on what activities are offered, how often, and whether they are tailored to individuals with dementia is a real gap. Good Practice evidence consistently shows that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia: one-to-one engagement, including everyday household tasks that provide a sense of purpose and continuity, produces better wellbeing outcomes. Ask specifically what happens on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, and what support is available for a resident who cannot join group sessions.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday purposeful tasks (folding laundry, tending plants, sorting objects) are more effective for people with advanced dementia than structured group entertainment. Ask whether the home uses any of these approaches.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe a typical week and then ask what a resident with advanced dementia, who cannot join group sessions, would do between 2pm and 4pm on a weekday. The answer will tell you a great deal."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, following a previous rating of Requires Improvement. This improvement in the Well-led domain is particularly significant because leadership quality is strongly predictive of overall care trajectory. The nominated individual is named in registration data as Mr Fatih Tekin of MISTIS Ltd. The published report does not include observations of management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home handles complaints and incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews, and our Good Practice evidence is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality. The fact that this home moved from Requires Improvement to Good in the Well-led domain suggests someone identified what was wrong and acted on it. However, that improvement was captured in January 2022, more than three years ago. Staff turnover, manager changes, and occupancy growth can all erode a positive culture over time. Ask how long the current manager has been in post, whether there have been significant staffing changes recently, and how the home communicates with families when something goes wrong.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where managers are visible on the floor rather than office-based, consistently deliver better care. Ask whether there is a named manager you can speak to on a visit and whether staff regularly work alongside management.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post, and ask what change they made after the previous Requires Improvement rating that they are most proud of. The answer will reveal both their tenure and their understanding of what went wrong before."}

  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 specialist support for adults under 65 with complex needs, alongside traditional elderly care. Their experience spans dementia care, mental health conditions and physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here work with residents living with dementia, showing the patience and understanding these conditions require. The home's experience with mental health conditions alongside dementia means they're equipped for residents with multiple care needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.