Princess House Care Home

What families say

Visitors describe walking in to find staff chatting naturally with residents throughout the day, not just during care routines. There's a sense that people have time here — time to sit and talk, time to know each person properly.

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

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-18 · Report published 2019-01-18 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, confirmed as unchanged at the July 2023 monitoring review. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to incidents. The published text does not include specific observations about any of these areas. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating means inspectors were broadly satisfied that your parent would not be placed at risk. However, our Good Practice evidence base identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in smaller care homes, and the published findings give no detail about how many staff are on duty overnight in a 26-bed home. Families in our review data (covering 5,409 UK care homes) who mention safety most often point to staff attentiveness and how quickly staff respond when someone needs help. You cannot assess this from the published text alone, so a visit and direct questioning are essential.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance and inconsistent night staffing are among the most significant predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care. Homes with stable, permanent night teams consistently outperform those relying on bank or agency cover after dark.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a staffing template. Count how many permanent staff are listed on night shifts versus agency or bank workers. For a 26-bed dementia home, ask specifically how many carers and how many seniors are on the floor between 10pm and 6am."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, confirmed as unchanged at the July 2023 review. This domain covers training, care planning, nutrition, and access to healthcare. The published inspection text provides no specific detail about any of these areas: no examples of care plan content, no information about dementia training, and no mention of how GP or specialist access is arranged.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in dementia care is largely invisible on a visit unless you know what to look for. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans should function as living documents, updated after any significant change in your parent's health or behaviour, and that families should be actively involved in those reviews. The inspection text does not tell you whether this happens at Princess House Seaburn. Food quality is rated by 20.9% of positive family reviews as a significant marker of genuine care, but again there is no detail here. Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and ask when care plans are reviewed.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training, particularly training that covers non-verbal communication and behavioural responses to unmet need, is consistently associated with better outcomes for people living with dementia. A Good Effective rating suggests training is in place, but the content and frequency matter more than the label.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff complete, when they last completed it, and whether it covers responding to distress and non-verbal communication. Ask how often your parent's care plan would be reviewed, and whether you would be invited to take part."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, confirmed as unchanged at the July 2023 review. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well the home supports independence. The published inspection text contains no direct observations of staff interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific examples of dignified or respectful practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are the things families notice immediately on a first visit: whether staff greet your parent by name, whether they knock before entering a room, whether interactions feel unhurried. A Good Caring rating suggests inspectors were satisfied, but because the published text has no specific examples, you should treat a visit as your main source of evidence. Watch how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal spaces, not just in a formal meeting room.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken language for people living with dementia. Staff who maintain eye contact, use a calm tone, and approach without haste consistently produce better outcomes for residents, including reduced distress and improved wellbeing.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit quietly in a communal area for at least 15 minutes and watch how staff approach residents. Do they crouch to eye level? Do they use names? Do they appear rushed? This is more reliable than anything a manager tells you in a meeting room."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, confirmed as unchanged at the July 2023 review. This domain covers activities, individuality, and end-of-life care. The published inspection text contains no description of the activities programme, no examples of individual or group activities, and no information about how the home plans for end of life.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness features in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities are cited in 21.4%. For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, the quality of the activities programme matters particularly because people with advancing dementia may not be able to initiate their own engagement and depend on staff to bring meaningful activity to them. The inspection text gives no indication of whether Princess House Seaburn offers one-to-one activity for residents who cannot join a group, or whether activities are built around individual life histories. This is the area where you should ask the most specific questions on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based approaches and activities rooted in familiar everyday tasks, such as folding, sorting, or simple cooking, produce significantly better engagement for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group entertainment activities. The key question is whether the home tailors activity to the individual or runs a single programme for all residents.","watch_out":"Ask to see last week's activity records, not a printed programme. Ask specifically what would happen on a day when your parent did not want to join a group activity, and how staff would provide individual engagement. Ask whether the activities coordinator has a dedicated role or whether carers fit activities around personal care tasks."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, confirmed as unchanged at the July 2023 review. The home is run by Danick Limited, with Lynne Harbottle recorded as registered manager and Michelle Lovelace as nominated individual. The published text contains no further detail about leadership culture, how staff are supported, how the home responds to complaints, or how governance is structured.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management leadership is weighted at 23.4% in our family review data, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in a care home. A named, consistent registered manager who knows residents and families by name is a positive indicator. However, the inspection text is too sparse to tell you whether Lynne Harbottle is still in post, how long she has been there, or what the culture is like for staff who want to raise concerns. Manager tenure and staff turnover are two of the most useful questions you can ask before committing to a home.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes with stable, long-tenured managers and a culture where care staff feel empowered to raise concerns consistently outperform homes where leadership changes frequently or where a top-down management style discourages staff from speaking up.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long she has been in post and whether there have been any significant staffing changes in the past 12 months. Ask what happens when a care worker raises a concern about a resident, and ask whether you can speak briefly to one or two care staff without the manager present."}

  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 Princess House supports adults over and under 65, including those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on — areas worth probing directly during a visit.