Shaftsbury House

What families say

What stands out here is how the team approaches individual care. Families have noticed the personal attention residents receive, with staff taking time to understand each person's specific needs and preferences.

Based on 6 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity74
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement82
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-05-23 · Report published 2019-05-23 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Shaftsbury House was rated Good for safety at its October 2020 inspection. The home supports a complex mix of people, including those with dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, across 11 beds. A Good Safe rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied with how risks were managed and that staffing was considered adequate. The published summary does not include specific detail on medicines management, incident logging, or night staffing numbers. The July 2023 monitoring review found no new concerns about safety.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a small home supporting people with such varied needs, the safety rating matters a great deal. The Good rating tells you inspectors did not find serious concerns, but the published findings are thin on the detail families most need: how many staff are on at night, how incidents are recorded and learned from, and how the home manages the particular risks associated with dementia. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, and our family review data shows that staff attentiveness is mentioned in around 14% of positive reviews as a key reassurance. With only 11 residents, a small drop in staffing numbers overnight could have a disproportionate impact. Ask directly before you decide.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios are one of the strongest predictors of preventable harm in residential care. Small homes with complex resident needs are particularly vulnerable when cover is thin or relies on agency staff who do not know the individuals.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual night-shift rota, not the template. Count how many staff were on for all 11 residents on each night, and ask how many of those were permanent rather than agency workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Effective at its October 2020 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and how well the home meets residents' needs in practice. Shaftsbury House lists dementia, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities as specialisms, which requires inspectors to assess whether staff have the relevant training and whether care plans reflect the complexity of individual needs. The published summary does not include specific detail on dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or how care plans are reviewed. The July 2023 monitoring review did not raise concerns in this area.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating is reassuring but tells you relatively little on its own. What matters most for your parent, particularly if they are living with dementia or another complex condition, is whether staff have genuinely been trained in that specific area and whether your parent's care plan is treated as a living document rather than something written at admission and rarely revisited. Our family review data shows that dementia-specific care is mentioned positively in around 12.7% of reviews, almost always by families who noticed staff using the right approach in a difficult moment. The Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans updated at least monthly, with family input, are associated with better outcomes. Ask when the last review was and whether you would be invited to the next one.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plan quality is one of the most reliable markers of effective dementia care. Plans that include personal history, preferred routines, communication needs, and triggers for distress allow staff to respond as individuals rather than to a diagnosis.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (with the resident's permission) and check when it was last reviewed and whether a family member was involved in that review. If the last review date is more than three months ago, ask why."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Shaftsbury House was rated Good for Caring at its October 2020 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether residents are treated as individuals. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the interactions they observed and the accounts they received from residents and relatives. The published summary does not include specific quotes from residents or relatives, nor does it describe particular moments of kind or attentive care. The July 2023 review found no new concerns in this area.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for a further 55.2%. That tells you these qualities matter more to families than almost anything else. The Good Caring rating at Shaftsbury House suggests inspectors found evidence of both, but the absence of specific detail in the published text means you cannot rely on the rating alone. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication, how a staff member approaches a person, whether they make eye contact, whether they sit down rather than stand over someone, matters as much as what is said. These are things you can observe yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research review found that person-centred caring behaviours, including using preferred names, unhurried interactions, and responding to non-verbal cues, are associated with lower levels of distress in people with dementia and higher family satisfaction scores.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff approach your parent's room. Do they knock and wait? Do they use the name your parent prefers? Do they make eye contact and crouch or sit rather than standing over them? These small signals are more reliable indicators of a caring culture than anything a manager will tell you."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Outstanding

  {"found":"Shaftsbury House was rated Outstanding for Responsive at its October 2020 inspection. This is the highest rating available and indicates inspectors found the home went significantly beyond the expected standard in tailoring care and activities to individuals. The Responsive domain covers activities, individual engagement, how the home meets the needs of people with specialist conditions, and end-of-life care planning. The published summary is brief and does not set out the specific evidence that led to the Outstanding rating. The July 2023 monitoring review found no reason to change this rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An Outstanding Responsive rating is genuinely rare: inspectors award it only when a home can demonstrate, with specific evidence, that it goes beyond compliance and actively shapes daily life around each person. For a home of only 11 residents supporting people with such varied and complex needs, achieving this rating suggests the staff team has developed a detailed understanding of who each person is and what matters to them. Activities engagement is mentioned positively in 21.4% of our family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. The Good Practice evidence base shows that tailored individual activities, rather than group programmes alone, are particularly important for people with advanced dementia who cannot participate in larger sessions. Even with an Outstanding rating, ask specifically about one-to-one provision for days when your parent is not up to joining a group.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found strong evidence that Montessori-based and occupation-focused individual activities, including everyday tasks like folding, gardening, and sorting, produce measurable reductions in agitation and improvements in wellbeing for people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared to group-only programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the home to describe a specific activity that was arranged for a resident who could not join a group session. If staff can give you a detailed, individual example rather than a general description of the programme, that is a strong sign the Outstanding rating reflects genuine day-to-day practice."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"Shaftsbury House received a Good rating for Well-led at its October 2020 inspection. The home is run by Sun Healthcare Limited and has a named registered manager, Mrs Emma Louise Birch, supported by a nominated individual, Mr Alan Tolan. A Good Well-led rating indicates inspectors were satisfied that governance, oversight, and the culture of the home were sound. The published summary does not include detail on how long the current manager has been in post, how staff are supported, or how the home handles complaints and feedback. The July 2023 monitoring review did not raise concerns about leadership.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of consistent quality in care homes. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years, and where staff feel able to speak up without fear, tend to maintain their ratings over time and handle problems more effectively when they arise. Communication with families is mentioned positively in 11.5% of our family reviews, most often by people who felt they were told promptly when something changed. The Good Well-led rating at Shaftsbury House is a positive indicator, but given that the inspection report is brief and the last full inspection was in 2020, it is worth asking the manager directly about what has changed in the home since then, including any staff turnover at a senior level.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that leadership stability is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than the rating itself. Homes where the registered manager changed within 12 months of a Good or Outstanding rating showed measurable deterioration in staff confidence and care consistency within six months of the change.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long she has been in post at Shaftsbury House and whether there have been any significant changes to the senior team since the last inspection in 2020. Also ask how the home would contact you if something happened to your parent overnight."}

  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 Shaftsbury House supports adults of all ages with various needs including learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and dementia. This breadth of expertise means they're equipped to handle complex or changing care requirements.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the home's emphasis on individualised attention could be particularly valuable. Having staff who can dedicate proper time to each resident helps maintain dignity and connection. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.