Parkland House

What families say

Visitors notice how staff maintain their cheerful, caring approach even after years of service. Residents appear well-presented and comfortable, with plenty of structured activities keeping everyone occupied. The calm, happy atmosphere seems to put both residents and their families at ease.

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth92
• Compassion & dignity92
• Cleanliness80
• Activities & engagement85
• Food quality78
• Healthcare88
• Management & leadership92
• Resident happiness85

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-06-01 · Report published 2019-06-01 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Safe was rated Good at the March 2019 inspection, meaning inspectors found no significant concerns about safety but did not find the exceptional evidence required for Outstanding. The Safe domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, safeguarding, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. A Good rating confirms that basic safety requirements were met and that risks were being managed. The published summary does not include specific detail about night staffing ratios, agency usage, or falls management.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe is a solid baseline. It tells you inspectors did not find unsafe practices, poor medicines management, or safeguarding failures. However, Good in this domain while other domains reached Outstanding is worth noting: it may simply reflect that safe practice is harder to evidence at Outstanding level, or it may indicate an area where the home has more room to develop. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that night staffing is the area where safety most commonly slips in care homes, particularly for people with dementia who may become distressed or fall during the night. The published findings do not tell you how many staff are on duty overnight, so this is the single most important question to ask on your visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and consistent staffing (low agency reliance) are among the strongest predictors of physical safety for people living with dementia. Homes with stable permanent night teams showed fewer falls-related incidents in the reviewed studies.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not the planned template. Count how many permanent staff were on the dementia unit on each night shift, and ask what the home's policy is when a permanent member calls in sick overnight."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Effective was rated Outstanding at the March 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right skills and knowledge, whether care plans are detailed and used in practice, whether residents' health needs are well managed, and whether food and nutrition are properly addressed. Outstanding in this domain means inspectors found specific evidence of skilled practice, not just compliance with minimum standards. Dementia is a registered specialism at Parkland House, so inspectors would have assessed whether staff demonstrated specialist knowledge in this area. The published summary does not include specific detail about training content, GP access frequency, or care plan review processes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Outstanding in Effective is genuinely significant for families considering a dementia placement. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that dementia-specific training, including understanding of non-verbal communication and behaviour as a form of expression, makes a measurable difference to how settled and well people are. An Outstanding rating here means inspectors found evidence of this kind of informed, skilled care rather than generic task completion. Healthcare is weighted at 20.2% in our family review data, and food quality at 20.9%, both reflecting how much families notice whether their parent is physically well looked-after. The Outstanding rating suggests inspectors were satisfied across all of these areas, though you should ask specifically about care plan reviews and whether families are invited to take part in them.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans function as living documents in the highest-performing homes, updated after any significant change in the person's condition and reviewed with family input at least quarterly. Homes where care plans were treated as administrative records rather than practical guides showed poorer outcomes for residents with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often your parent's care plan would be formally reviewed, who attends those reviews, and whether you would be invited to contribute. Then ask to see an example of a care plan (with personal details removed) so you can judge whether it reads like a real description of a person or a standard template."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Caring was rated Outstanding at the March 2019 inspection. This is the domain that most directly reflects what families experience day-to-day: whether staff are genuinely warm, whether your parent is treated with dignity, whether their independence is supported rather than managed away, and whether their emotional wellbeing is noticed and responded to. Outstanding requires inspectors to observe consistent, specific evidence of kind and respectful care across the whole service, not just in the best moments. The published summary confirms the rating but does not include direct quotes from residents or relatives recorded during the inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity come close behind at 55.2%. An Outstanding rating in Caring tells you that inspectors saw these qualities in practice, repeatedly and consistently enough to award the highest possible grade. For people living with dementia, the evidence is clear that how staff make someone feel, through tone of voice, patience, and recognition of the individual, matters as much as clinical competence. What this rating cannot tell you is whether the staff who were observed in 2019 are still working at the home today. Staff turnover is one of the greatest risks to a Caring rating holding over time.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that non-verbal communication, including how staff approach a person, their tone, their pace, and their physical presence, is at least as important as verbal communication for people living with advanced dementia. Homes rated Outstanding for Caring in the reviewed studies consistently showed staff who adapted their communication style to each individual rather than using a uniform approach.","watch_out":"On your visit, spend time in a communal area and watch how staff speak to the people who live there when no one appears to be observing. Notice whether staff use residents' preferred names, whether they crouch to eye level, and whether interactions feel unhurried. These behaviours are not taught for inspections; they reflect the actual culture of the home."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Outstanding at the March 2019 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors its care to each individual, whether activities are meaningful and accessible (including for people who cannot join group sessions), whether the home responds well to complaints, and whether end-of-life care is planned and delivered with sensitivity. Outstanding in Responsive means inspectors found genuine individualisation rather than a one-size approach. Dementia and physical disabilities are both listed as specialisms, so inspectors would have assessed whether the home meets the specific needs of people in both groups.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness for 27.1%. An Outstanding Responsive rating suggests the home was doing more than running a standard weekly programme. For people with dementia in particular, the Good Practice evidence base shows that one-to-one engagement, everyday meaningful tasks, and activities rooted in the person's own history produce better outcomes than group entertainment sessions alone. The published findings do not describe specific activities, so ask about this in detail on your visit. Also ask about end-of-life planning, since an Outstanding Responsive rating covers this area and it is something many families wish they had discussed earlier.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and life-history approaches to activity, where tasks and engagement are connected to what a person did and valued before dementia, produce measurable improvements in mood, engagement, and reduced distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia. Homes offering only group entertainment showed lower outcomes on these measures.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator what they would do specifically for your parent if group sessions were no longer accessible. Ask for an example of a one-to-one activity they have arranged for a resident with advanced dementia, and ask how they found out what that person used to enjoy before coming to the home."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Outstanding at the March 2019 inspection, and the home's overall rating improved from Good to Outstanding at this assessment, suggesting meaningful progress under current leadership. This domain covers whether management is visible and stable, whether staff feel supported and able to raise concerns, whether governance systems are effective, and whether the home has a culture of continuous improvement. The registered manager at inspection was Mrs Donna Marie Selway, with Miss Louise Arnold listed as nominated individual. Outstanding in Well-led requires inspectors to find leadership that actively drives quality rather than simply maintaining it.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and families who report good communication with management are significantly more satisfied overall. An Outstanding Well-led rating tells you that at the time of inspection, the home had leadership that inspectors found genuinely effective, including governance systems that worked and a culture where staff could speak up. The most important caveat is that this rating dates from 2019. Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of whether a high rating is sustained over time. If the registered manager has changed since the inspection, the culture and systems may look quite different today.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that manager tenure is one of the strongest single predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Homes where the registered manager had been in post for more than two years consistently showed better staff retention, lower incident rates, and higher family satisfaction scores than homes that had experienced recent leadership change.","watch_out":"Before your visit, call the home and ask whether Donna Marie Selway is still the registered manager. If she has left, ask who replaced her and how long the current manager has been in post. On your visit, ask staff members directly how long they have worked at Parkland House. High staff tenure is one of the most reliable signals that good leadership has been sustained."}

  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 adults over 65, including those with physical disabilities. They also provide specialist dementia support.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here understand how to create the right environment for residents with dementia, maintaining consistent routines and a calm atmosphere that helps people feel secure. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.