South Moor Lodge Care Home

What families say

Residents here seem genuinely happy and well cared for. You'll often find them singing along during entertainment sessions or chatting together in the communal areas. The atmosphere feels relaxed and sociable, with staff who take time to know each person properly.

Based on 14 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 2018-05-18 · Report published 2018-05-18 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The safe domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement overall, and the improvement to Good across all domains suggests that safety concerns identified earlier were addressed. The published summary does not describe specific observations about medicines management, falls prevention, infection control, or staffing ratios. A registered manager is in post, which is a foundational safety governance requirement.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety after a previous Requires Improvement is genuinely reassuring, because it means inspectors found real, measurable change rather than simply ticking boxes. That said, the inspection text does not tell you what your parent's day-to-day safety actually looks like: how many staff are on at night, how falls are recorded and acted upon, or how medicines are managed. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety most often slips in care homes, particularly on dementia units. You cannot assess this from the published report alone, so you need to ask the home directly about night-time staffing numbers and how incidents are reviewed.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most consistent predictors of safety risk in care homes, as unfamiliar staff are less able to detect subtle changes in a person with dementia. Asking about permanent versus agency cover is therefore one of the most useful questions you can ask.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not a template. Count how many permanent staff versus agency staff covered the night shifts, and ask what the minimum staffing number is on the dementia unit after 8pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The effective domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published text does not describe specific findings about dementia training content, GP access arrangements, care plan quality, or food provision. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means the expectation of effective dementia-specific practice is higher.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for effectiveness means inspectors were satisfied that staff know what they are doing and that care is planned and delivered in a structured way. For a home specialising in dementia, this should mean care plans that go beyond basic health needs to capture who your parent is: their history, preferences, routines, and what unsettles or reassures them. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans function as living documents, updated as the person's needs change, rather than paperwork completed on admission and filed away. The inspection gives no detail on any of this, so it is worth asking to see a sample care plan structure and asking how often plans are reviewed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that regular, structured review of care plans, including input from the person and their family, is associated with better outcomes for people living with dementia. Homes where families are actively involved in care planning report higher satisfaction scores.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed for residents with dementia, who is involved in that review, and whether you would receive a copy. Ask also what specific dementia training staff complete and when the last training session took place."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The caring domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether people are treated as individuals. The published inspection text contains no direct observations of staff interactions, no resident or relative quotes, and no specific examples of dignified care. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but the evidence behind that judgement is not visible in the published summary.","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 account for a further 55.2%. These are the things families notice most, and they are the hardest to assess from a published report. The inspection confirms a Good standard was found, but what actually matters to your mum or dad is whether staff use their preferred name, whether they are unhurried during personal care, and whether someone notices if they seem distressed. These are things you can only assess by visiting, ideally at a time when care is happening rather than just during a formal tour.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal interaction for people living with dementia. Staff who make eye contact, crouch to the same level, and approach without rushing convey safety and respect even when verbal communication is limited.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff interact with residents in communal areas and corridors when they think no one is observing them particularly. Notice whether they use residents' preferred names, make eye contact, and move without hurry. These small behaviours are the most reliable indicators of a genuinely caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The responsive domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care. The published text gives no description of the activity programme, one-to-one engagement for people with advanced dementia, or how individual preferences shape daily life. The home's dementia specialism raises the expectation that responsiveness should include tailored, meaningful activity rather than group entertainment alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for nearly half of what families highlight in our review data. A Good rating here means inspectors found the home was responding to individual needs, but the published report gives no detail on what that looks like. For someone living with dementia who cannot easily join group activities, what matters most is whether there is reliable one-to-one engagement on quieter days. Good Practice evidence consistently shows that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks, such as folding, sorting, or simple cooking, provide much more meaningful engagement than passive group entertainment for people with moderate to advanced dementia.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that individual, tailored activity, rather than group-based programmes alone, is the strongest predictor of wellbeing for people with dementia in residential care. Homes that rely solely on scheduled group activities often leave people with more advanced dementia unstimulated for long periods.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual activity records from last week, not the planned schedule. Ask specifically what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or will not join a group session, and who is responsible for one-to-one engagement on the dementia unit."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The well-led domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Lisa Jane McAnulty, is recorded as in post, and a nominated individual, Mr Christopher Dean Clark, is identified for the provider organisation Jasmine Healthcare Limited. The home improved from Requires Improvement to Good, which suggests leadership was effective in driving change. The published text contains no further detail about management visibility, staff culture, or governance processes.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in care homes. The fact that the home improved from Requires Improvement to Good, and has maintained that rating across a subsequent review, suggests the management team made genuine changes rather than temporary fixes. What you cannot tell from the published report is whether the registered manager is a visible, daily presence on the floor or primarily an administrative figure. Communication with families also falls under this domain, and 11.5% of positive family reviews specifically mention good communication as a reason for satisfaction. Asking how and how often the home would keep you informed about your parent's care is a reasonable and important question.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research identifies manager tenure and daily floor presence as the two most reliable indicators of a stable, high-quality care culture. Homes where the manager is known by name to both staff and residents tend to perform more consistently across all care domains.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask to meet the registered manager in person rather than a deputy, and ask how long they have been in post. Ask also how families are told about changes in their parent's health or wellbeing, whether that is a phone call, a written update, or something else."}

  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 South Moor Lodge specialises in caring for adults over 65, including those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on — areas worth probing directly during a visit.