Lindsay House Care Home in Wigan – Akari Care

What families say

Families describe walking in and feeling an immediate sense of comfort — the kind of atmosphere that helps put worried minds at rest. Staff are known for their caring, professional approach, with one family particularly moved by how lovingly their relatives were looked after.

Based on 3 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-01-08 · Report published 2020-01-08 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated Safe as Good, an improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating. This suggests that concerns identified in the earlier inspection u2014 which may have related to risk management, medicines, or staffing u2014 were addressed to the inspector's satisfaction. No specific details about medicines management, falls recording, or infection control practices are available in the published text. A monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring reassessment. The home is registered and active with no dormancy flags.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A move from Requires Improvement to Good in Safe is the most important signal in this report u2014 it tells you that whatever was wrong before has been addressed, and that the improvement held for at least two years. That said, Good in Safe does not mean zero incidents; it means the home was managing risk appropriately at the time of inspection. Good Practice research consistently shows that night-time is where safety most often slips in care homes, and agency staff unfamiliarity is a known risk factor. You cannot tell from the published summary whether this home uses agency staff regularly or what the overnight staffing ratio looks like u2014 these are essential questions before you decide.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care home settings, yet these are frequently under-scrutinised in inspection summaries.","watch_out":"Ask the home: 'How many permanent, named staff are on duty overnight, and what is your policy on agency cover u2014 can you show me the rota for the last four weeks so I can see how often agency staff were used?'"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective is rated Good, meaning inspectors were satisfied with how the home translates knowledge into good outcomes for your parent. This domain typically covers training adequacy, care plan quality, GP and specialist access, and nutritional care. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means the home has declared particular expertise in this area, but the published text does not describe the specific dementia training staff receive or how care plans are personalised. No information about food quality, dietary assessment, or mealtime experience is available in the summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating means the inspector found that staff broadly know what they are doing and that care plans are functioning as a guide to your parent's care. For families choosing a dementia care home, the evidence base is clear that care plans work best when they are treated as living documents u2014 reviewed regularly and updated when your parent's needs or preferences change. In our analysis of over 3,600 family reviews, dementia-specific care knowledge ranked in the top themes families mentioned, alongside food quality. Neither can be adequately assessed from the published summary alone. Ask to see a sample care plan structure and find out whether families are routinely invited to review meetings.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function as living documents only when reviewed at regular, pre-agreed intervals with family input u2014 homes that involve families in reviews report higher family satisfaction and better-personalised care outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How often are care plans formally reviewed, and will I be invited to take part? Can you show me how you record changes in my parent's preferences or health over time?'"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring is rated Good. This domain covers how staff interact with your parent day-to-day u2014 warmth, dignity, privacy, and whether your parent's independence is supported. The published summary does not include direct quotes from residents or families recorded during the inspection, and no specific observations of staff interactions are described. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains suggests the home's culture has shifted positively, but the evidence available here cannot tell you whether staff know your parent's preferred name, respond calmly to distress, or allow unhurried mealtimes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single highest-weighted theme in DCC's analysis of over 3,600 family reviews, accounting for 57.3% of what drives positive family experience. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good Caring rating tells you the inspector was broadly satisfied, but the detail that matters most to you u2014 whether staff greet your parent by name, whether they sit with them rather than talk over them, whether they respond to distress with patience u2014 can only be observed in person. Good Practice research emphasises that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with dementia, and that person-centred care depends entirely on staff knowing the individual.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that person-centred caring interactions u2014 particularly unhurried, name-based, non-verbal communication u2014 are among the strongest predictors of wellbeing for people living with dementia, yet these are difficult to capture in inspection snapshots.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch an unscripted corridor or lounge interaction: does a staff member stop, make eye contact, use your parent's preferred name, and respond without rushing? This tells you more about daily culture than any inspection finding."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive is rated Good. This domain covers whether the home tailors its care and daily life to your parent as an individual u2014 activities, preferences, end-of-life planning, and how complaints are handled. The published text does not describe specific activities offered, how the home adapts engagement for people with advanced dementia, or what end-of-life planning looks like in practice. A Good rating in Responsive, combined with dementia as a listed specialism, suggests these areas were deemed satisfactory, but the level of detail available is limited.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"In DCC's family review data, resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of what families notice and comment on u2014 and activities are central to that. Good Practice research is clear that group activities are not enough: people with more advanced dementia, or those who are anxious in groups, need one-to-one engagement built into their daily routine. This is one of the most under-evidenced areas in inspection summaries, and it is the one most likely to affect your parent's quality of life on a quiet Tuesday afternoon. The home's willingness to show you last week's actual activity log u2014 not a printed programme u2014 is a reliable indicator of how seriously this is taken.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-continuity approaches u2014 including meaningful everyday household activities tailored to the individual's history u2014 show consistent positive outcomes for mood and engagement in people with dementia, and are distinct from generic group entertainment programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity log for the last two weeks u2014 not the planned programme but what actually happened. Then ask: 'What do you do for someone who finds groups overwhelming or who has advanced dementia and can't join in?'"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Well-led is rated Good, with a named registered manager (Mrs Lindsay Jane Craddock) and nominated individual (Miss Karen Harkin) confirmed as leading the service under Akari Care Limited. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains u2014 and the sustained Good rating confirmed at a July 2023 review u2014 suggests leadership stability and effective governance. The published text does not describe how the manager is visible to residents and families day-to-day, how staff are supported to raise concerns, or how the home seeks and acts on family feedback.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and communication with families together account for nearly 35% of what drives family satisfaction in DCC's review data. The leadership trajectory here is genuinely encouraging u2014 sustaining a Good rating for over two years after an improvement is harder than achieving it once. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory: homes with settled, experienced managers who are visible on the floor tend to hold their ratings. What the published summary cannot tell you is whether the manager is known to residents by name, whether there is a culture where staff feel safe to raise concerns, or how quickly the home responds when families raise a worry. These are worth testing directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that homes where staff felt empowered to speak up u2014 and where managers were visibly present on care floors rather than office-based u2014 showed stronger and more sustained quality ratings over time.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How long has the current registered manager been in post, and what is the best way for me to raise a concern once my parent is living here u2014 who do I call, and what is the typical response time?'"}

  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 Lindsay House provides care for adults both under and over 65, with particular expertise in dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team here understands the complexities of dementia care, providing specialist support as part of their core services. This expertise extends across different age groups, recognising that dementia affects younger people too. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.