Hawthorn House

What families say

Based on 8 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-12-14 · Report published 2018-12-14 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its November 2018 inspection. With 12 beds and a wide range of care needs listed, safe staffing and specialist knowledge are particularly important. The published report does not describe specific observations about medicines management, falls monitoring, or infection control. No concerns were raised that prompted a Requires Improvement or Inadequate rating. A July 2023 review of available data found no reason to reassess the rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is a reassuring baseline, but the evidence here is general rather than specific. Good Practice research highlights that night staffing is where safety most often slips in smaller homes, and that consistent permanent staff reduce risk far more than a rota filled with agency cover. With 12 residents across a wide range of needs including dementia, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions, you need to know how many staff are on at night and whether they have the right skills. The inspection does not answer that question, so you should ask it directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of safety lapses in residential care. Consistent, permanent staff who know individual residents are better placed to detect early deterioration and respond appropriately.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Find out how many permanent carers are on each night shift and whether a senior carer with dementia training is always present."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and food. The published report does not include specific observations about dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or how care plans are reviewed. The home lists dementia as a specialism alongside learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. No concerns were identified in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in effectiveness means inspectors were broadly satisfied, but without specific detail you cannot tell whether care plans are genuinely personalised or whether training goes beyond a basic induction. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans function best as living documents reviewed regularly with families, not paperwork completed at admission and filed away. Food quality is also a reliable signal of how much a home understands individual needs: ask whether your parent's dietary preferences, textures, and mealtimes would be built into their care plan from day one. The home's broad range of specialisms means staff need to hold skills across very different conditions, and it is worth asking how they manage that in a team of what must be a small number of permanent carers.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF rapid evidence review found that regular, structured dementia training, including non-verbal communication and person-led care techniques, is associated with meaningfully better outcomes for people with dementia in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether families are routinely invited to contribute. Also ask what dementia-specific training staff have completed in the past 12 months and whether it was face-to-face or online."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they are treated, or examples of dignity being upheld. No concerns were raised in this domain. The July 2023 review did not identify information that would change this rating.","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 together account for a further 55.2%. The inspection confirms a Good standard was met in 2018, but without recorded observations you cannot rely on the report alone to tell you how staff actually speak to and treat the people who live here. Good Practice research is clear that non-verbal communication matters as much as what staff say, particularly for people with advanced dementia who may not be able to express distress in words. When you visit, watch how staff move through the building: are they unhurried, do they make eye contact, do they use your parent's preferred name without being prompted?","evidence_base":"The IFF and Leeds Beckett evidence review found that person-led care, where staff know individual histories, preferences, and communication styles, produces measurably better wellbeing outcomes than task-focused care models, even when physical care standards are equivalent.","watch_out":"During your visit, ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name is and how they prefer to be addressed. Observe whether staff knock before entering rooms and whether care feels unhurried or task-driven."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers activities, individuality, and end-of-life care. The published report does not describe specific activities, examples of person-centred engagement, or end-of-life planning arrangements. The home's 12-bed size and broad specialism range suggest a varied population of residents with different cognitive and physical abilities. No concerns were raised in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together carry a combined weight of nearly 49% in our family review data, reflecting how much families care about whether their parent actually has a life in the home, not just a safe place to sleep. Good Practice research is particularly clear that group activities alone are not sufficient: people with dementia in later stages, or those who cannot easily socialise, need planned one-to-one engagement. A 12-bed home can be excellent at this because staff know every resident individually, but it can also mean a limited activity budget and a small team stretched across very different needs. Ask specifically what happens for a resident who cannot join a group session.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks, such as folding laundry or simple cooking, provide meaningful engagement for people with moderate to advanced dementia and are associated with reduced distress and improved mood.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity records for the past four weeks, not just a planned schedule. Check whether any one-to-one sessions are logged for residents who cannot participate in groups, and ask what form those sessions take."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at its November 2018 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Suzanne Clarke, and a nominated individual, Mrs Tammy Drinkwater, are recorded. The published report does not describe the manager's visibility, staff culture, or governance processes in any detail. No concerns about leadership or accountability were identified. The July 2023 review found no information to change the rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality over time. A named, permanent manager is a positive signal, but a six-year gap since the last full inspection means you have very little current information about whether the leadership team is still the same, what turnover has looked like among frontline staff, and how the home has developed since 2018. Communication with families, which features in 11.5% of our positive review data, is something the inspection did not assess at all here, so you will need to form your own view on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where managers are visibly present on the floor, consistently outperform homes where leadership is perceived as remote or administrative.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post and whether the registered manager listed in the 2018 inspection is still leading the home. Also ask how they would contact you if something changed overnight with your parent's health or wellbeing."}

  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 cares for people with sensory impairments, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health conditions. They support both adults under 65 and older residents, including those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the home offers specialist care alongside support for other conditions. This means people can stay even as their needs change over time. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.