Madison Court Care Home

What families say

Families describe finding their loved ones happy and well cared for here. People mention residents being comfortable enough to choose extended stays, with some initially reluctant residents agreeing to return after positive experiences.

Based on 12 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement68
• Food quality68
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-04-11 · Report published 2019-04-11 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Madison Court received a Good rating for safety at its January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. The published inspection text does not include specific observations about staffing ratios, night cover, falls recording, or agency staff use. No concerns or requirements were identified in this domain. The home has not been re-inspected since January 2022, though a monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence to change the rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but it tells you less than it might appear to when the published text contains no detail. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, particularly for people living with dementia who may be more likely to get up, become confused, or need support after midnight. With 66 beds, the number of staff on overnight and the ratio of permanent to agency workers matters a great deal. Our family review data shows that families rarely think to ask about night staffing until something goes wrong; make it a question you ask before you choose.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance undermines the consistency of care that people with dementia depend on, because continuity of relationship is central to reducing distress and maintaining trust.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a planned template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and specifically ask how many carers and how many nursing staff are on duty overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Madison Court received a Good rating for effectiveness at its January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, healthcare access including GP contact and medication management, and nutrition. The published text does not include any specific observations about training content, care plan quality, how often plans are reviewed, or how food and dietary needs are managed. No concerns were identified. Dementia is listed as a registered specialism, but no detail is provided about dementia-specific training or practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness is where the detail of daily care lives: whether staff know your parent's history, preferences, and triggers, whether a GP visits regularly or only in a crisis, and whether care plans are updated when something changes rather than filed and forgotten. Good Practice research identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed with families, not just by staff alone. The inspection did not record whether families are involved in reviews at Madison Court, so this is something to ask directly. Food quality is also a marker of genuine individual care: whether staff know your parent prefers soup to sandwiches, or tea without milk, is the kind of detail that separates a personalised home from a routine one.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that regular, meaningful family involvement in care plan reviews is associated with better outcomes for people with dementia, and that homes which treat care plans as active tools rather than administrative documents tend to respond faster to changes in a person's condition.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and check whether it records personal history, preferences, and communication style, not just medical needs. Ask when it was last reviewed and whether a family member was present."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Madison Court received a Good rating for Caring at its January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and whether people are supported to maintain independence. The published inspection text includes no specific inspector observations about how staff interact with residents, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no examples of practice in this area. No concerns were identified.","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 appear in over half. These are not abstract qualities; they show up in small, observable moments: whether a carer knocks before entering a room, uses your parent's preferred name, sits down to speak rather than talking from the doorway, and responds without irritation when your parent asks the same question for the tenth time. Because the inspection gives us no direct observations here, you will need to assess this yourself on a visit. Arrive unannounced if you can, or at a time the home is not expecting you, and watch how staff move through the building.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication, including pace, posture, and facial expression, matters as much as what staff say to people with dementia, particularly as verbal communication becomes harder. Homes where staff are observed to slow down and make eye contact consistently show better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch a corridor interaction between a carer and a resident who did not initiate it. Does the carer stop, make eye contact, and use the resident's name? Or do they pass with a brief word and keep moving? That moment tells you more than any brochure."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Madison Court received a Good rating for Responsiveness at its January 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors care to individual needs, provides meaningful activities, responds to complaints, and supports people at the end of life. The published text provides no description of the activity programme, no examples of individual tailoring, and no information about how the home handles end-of-life care. No concerns were identified. Dementia is a registered specialism, but no dementia-specific responsive practice is described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Responsiveness is where quality of life lives for your parent day to day. Our family review data shows that resident happiness, which includes being engaged, settled, and not just existing, accounts for 27.1% of positive reviews, and activities for 21.4%. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with advanced dementia, who may need one-to-one engagement, familiar household tasks, or sensory stimulation tailored to their history and abilities. Because the inspection gives us no specific information about what Madison Court actually offers in this area, you need to ask directly: what happens on a typical Tuesday afternoon for someone who cannot join a group session?","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including everyday tasks such as folding laundry or tending plants, produce measurable improvements in wellbeing and reduce distressed behaviour in people with dementia, compared to scheduled group activities alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what happened last Tuesday for a resident who could not join the main group session. If the answer is vague or references television, probe further: one-to-one engagement for people with advanced dementia is a reliable marker of genuine responsiveness."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Madison Court received a Good rating for Well-led at its January 2022 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Bernadette Marie Roberts, and a nominated individual, Mr Peter David Hammond, are confirmed in post. The home is operated by Birch Care Limited. The published text contains no specific information about management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home responds to feedback and complaints. No concerns were identified in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research is consistent on one point: leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. A home where the same manager has been in post for several years, is known by name to residents and families, and can be found on the floor rather than in the office, tends to maintain quality through the pressures of staff turnover and occupancy change. The inspection confirmed that a registered manager and nominated individual are in post, which is a structural positive, but gives no detail about how long either has been in role, how staff feel about the culture, or how complaints and incidents are handled. With only one inspection on record and a monitoring review rather than a full re-inspection in 2023, the evidence base here is limited. Ask about it directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes where frontline staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where managers respond visibly to feedback, consistently outperform homes with equivalent ratings but weaker internal culture.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at Madison Court specifically, not in the sector generally. Then ask a carer the same question: if the answers differ significantly, or if the carer seems uncertain, that tells you something important about management continuity."}

  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 Madison Court provides residential care for adults over 65, with specific expertise in dementia support. They also accommodate younger adults who need residential care.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home has developed particular strengths in supporting people living with dementia, ensuring they receive appropriate care while maintaining their comfort and dignity. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.