South Park Care Home – Roseberry Care Centres

What families say

Visitors frequently comment on the friendly atmosphere they encounter from the moment they walk through the door. Staff are known for their approachable nature and the way they engage with both residents and their families, making everyone feel genuinely welcome.

Based on 14 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership74
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-12-14 · Report published 2022-12-14 · Inspected 7 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated the Safe domain as Good, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. A Good Safe rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied with staffing arrangements, medicines management, and infection control at the time of the visit. The published summary does not include specific observations about staffing ratios, falls management, or how the home logs and learns from incidents. The home is registered for 80 beds and specialises in dementia and mental health conditions, both of which carry higher safety demands than standard residential care. No concerns were flagged in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in safety is genuinely encouraging: it means inspectors found that whatever had previously concerned them had been addressed. However, the Good Practice evidence base from IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University (61 studies, 2026) consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety slips most often in care homes, and the published report says nothing about overnight cover in a home of this size. For a parent living with dementia or a mental health condition, consistent, familiar staff overnight matter enormously. Our review data shows that families who later report concerns about safety most often describe it as something they noticed at night rather than during the daytime visit. The absence of detail in this report means you need to ask those questions yourself.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that reliance on agency staff is one of the most consistent predictors of safety incidents in dementia care settings, because unfamiliar faces can increase distress and reduce the likelihood that subtle changes in a person's condition are noticed early.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts on the dementia unit after 8pm were covered by permanent staff versus agency staff, and ask what briefing agency carers receive before their first shift."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published inspection summary does not include specific examples of care plan quality, GP access arrangements, or how the home manages medicines for people with complex needs such as dementia or mental health conditions. Dementia is a stated specialism of the home, which implies an expectation of specialist training and practice, but the published text does not confirm what dementia training staff have completed or how frequently it is refreshed. No concerns about effectiveness were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you that inspectors did not find the care planning or healthcare arrangements wanting. What it does not tell you is whether your parent's care plan would be treated as a living document, updated when their needs change, and reviewed with you as a family member. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans work best when families are actively involved in reviewing them, not simply handed a copy at admission. Dementia-specific training also varies enormously between homes: some staff have completed detailed, scenario-based programmes and some have completed a short online module. Knowing which applies here matters if your parent's needs are likely to become more complex.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that regular, structured reviews of care plans, involving families as partners rather than recipients of information, are associated with better outcomes for people living with dementia, including fewer unnecessary hospital admissions.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if necessary) and ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed. Then ask whether family members are invited to those reviews and how much notice they are given."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and the promotion of independence. The published inspection summary includes no direct quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific observations of staff interaction are recorded in the available text. A Good Caring rating requires inspectors to have seen or heard positive evidence of how staff treat the people who live there, but the detail is not available in the published summary. No concerns about care or dignity were flagged.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family reviews in our data: 57.3% of the 3,602 positive Google reviews we analysed across UK care homes mention warm or friendly staff by name. A Good Caring rating is a meaningful baseline, but it cannot substitute for what you will see and feel on a visit. Look at how staff speak to residents in the corridor, whether they use preferred names, and whether interactions feel unhurried. Compassion and dignity, the second highest driver at 55.2%, are visible in small moments: whether someone is helped to eat at their own pace, whether a door is knocked before it is opened. The published report gives you confidence that inspectors did not find problems; a visit will tell you whether the warmth is genuinely present.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as spoken interaction for people living with advanced dementia. Staff who make eye contact, crouch to the level of a seated resident, and approach without rushing signal safety and warmth even when words are difficult.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for 15 minutes and watch how staff pass through the space. Do they stop to acknowledge the people sitting there, or do they move through without interaction? Ask one member of staff what your parent's preferred name would be and how they would find that out."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good, covering activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care. The published inspection summary does not describe the activity programme, whether activities are tailored to individuals with dementia, or how the home supports residents who cannot take part in group activities. End-of-life planning is covered within the Responsive domain but is not mentioned in the published text. No concerns about responsiveness were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is the third most influential theme in our family review data, cited in 27.1% of positive reviews, and it is most directly shaped by whether your parent has things to do that feel meaningful to them. Activities in a dementia-specialist home need to go well beyond group entertainment: the Good Practice evidence base points strongly to individual, task-based engagement, including everyday activities like folding laundry, tending plants, or sorting objects, as being more beneficial for many people living with dementia than formal group sessions. The published report gives no detail on whether South Park takes this approach. The activities question is one of the most important you can ask on a visit, particularly if your parent has advanced dementia and would not be able to join a group.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and activity-based individual engagement, rather than group-only programming, significantly reduces distress behaviours and improves wellbeing in people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you last week's activity log, not the planned programme. Ask specifically what happens for a resident who cannot leave their room or join a group, and how often one-to-one visits are recorded in the care plan."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good, with a named registered manager, Mrs Vikki Sara Hamblin, and a nominated individual, Mrs Jean Thomas, both identified in the published report. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains suggests that leadership has driven meaningful change since the previous inspection. The published text does not describe the manager's tenure, the governance systems in place, or how staff are supported to raise concerns. No concerns about leadership or culture were flagged.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is cited in 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability, particularly a consistent registered manager, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home. The fact that this home has moved from Requires Improvement to Good is encouraging, but it is worth understanding when the current manager was appointed and whether that improvement reflects the work of this manager or a previous one. Communication with families, cited in 11.5% of positive reviews, is also a leadership responsibility: homes with strong leadership tend to have clear, proactive processes for keeping families informed, not just responding when families chase for updates.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear of consequences, a culture supported by visible and stable leadership, consistently score better on safety and caring outcomes than those where staff feel unable to speak up.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at South Park, and whether the improvement from the previous rating happened under their leadership. Ask how families are normally told if something changes in their parent's health or care, and what the expected turnaround is if you leave a message."}

  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 team provides specialist care for people living with dementia and various mental health conditions, supporting adults over 65. They bring experience in managing the complex needs that can arise with these conditions.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the staff's warm, patient approach helps create a sense of security and connection. Their use of humour and genuine engagement helps maintain dignity while providing the specialised support needed. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.