St Ives Lodge

What families say

Families describe finding a genuinely welcoming atmosphere here. The conservatory and day spaces create natural gathering spots where residents spend time together, while staff bring warmth alongside their professional approach.

Based on 7 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
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2017-12-16 · Report published 2017-12-16 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the last full inspection in December 2017, and this was not challenged at the desk-based review in July 2023. The home supports 36 residents with a range of needs including dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. No specific findings about staffing numbers, medicines management, falls prevention, or infection control are recorded in the published report. The Good Safe rating indicates inspectors were satisfied overall, but there is no observable detail behind that conclusion.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is the foundation of everything, and a Good Safe rating is a positive signal. However, our Good Practice evidence base consistently shows that safety risks in care homes are highest at night and during staff handovers, and that homes relying heavily on agency staff find it harder to maintain consistent, safe care. The published findings do not tell you anything about night staffing ratios, agency use, or how the home responds when something goes wrong. With 36 residents and specialisms spanning dementia and physical disabilities, you need those specifics before you can be confident your parent is safe at every hour.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are among the most reliable predictors of safety outcomes in care homes. Homes that could demonstrate consistent permanent staffing after 8pm had measurably fewer adverse incidents.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not the template. Count how many carers and senior staff were on duty overnight for 36 residents, and note how many of those names are permanent employees rather than agency workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the last full inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, nutrition, healthcare access, and whether care meets each person's individual needs. The published report includes no specific evidence on any of these areas: no mention of care plan quality, GP access arrangements, dementia training content, or how food and hydration needs are managed. The rating alone is the only information available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a care home means knowing your parent well enough to give the right care at the right time. For someone living with dementia, that includes staff who understand how dementia progresses, care plans that are reviewed regularly and reflect who your parent actually is, and prompt access to a GP when health changes. Our Good Practice evidence base shows that care plans used as living documents, updated with family input, are strongly associated with better outcomes. The published findings do not confirm any of this is happening at St Ives Lodge, so these are essential questions to raise directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training covering non-verbal communication, behaviour as communication, and person-centred approaches was associated with better resident wellbeing and fewer incidents. General care training alone was not sufficient for residents living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia-specific training staff have completed in the past 12 months, who delivered it, and how it is applied on the floor. Then ask to see an example care plan (anonymised if needed) to check whether it reflects the person's history, preferences, and current health needs, or whether it reads like a standard template."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the last full inspection. This domain covers how staff treat residents: whether they are kind, unhurried, respectful of privacy and dignity, and responsive to individual needs. The published report contains no inspector observations of staff interactions, no resident or family quotes, and no specific examples of caring practice. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but without supporting detail the basis for that judgement is not visible.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. Families consistently describe the same observable signals: staff using preferred names without being prompted, moving at the resident's pace rather than their own, and noticing distress before it escalates. A Good Caring rating is encouraging, but because the published findings contain no specific observations, you need to see this for yourself on a visit rather than take it on faith.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, including tone, pace, and physical proximity, matters as much as spoken words for people living with dementia. Staff who understood this and adjusted their approach accordingly produced measurably lower levels of agitation and distress in residents.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes without signalling that you are observing. Notice whether staff address residents by their preferred names unprompted, whether they crouch or sit to speak at eye level, and whether any resident is left calling out without a response for more than a few minutes."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the last full inspection. This domain covers whether the home adapts its care to each person's individual needs, offers meaningful activities, handles complaints well, and plans for end of life. The published report provides no detail on any of these areas. There is no description of the activities programme, no evidence of how individual preferences are recorded or acted on, and no mention of end-of-life care planning.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are mentioned positively in 21.4% of family reviews in our data, and resident happiness is a theme in 27.1%. But the research is clear that for people living with dementia, group activities alone are not enough. What makes the difference is one-to-one engagement tailored to who the person was before they moved into care: their work history, hobbies, music, and daily routines. The Good Responsive rating at St Ives Lodge is a positive sign, but the published evidence does not tell you whether this kind of individual tailoring is actually happening or whether activities are generic and group-based.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including familiar household tasks, music from personal history, and one-to-one engagement, produced the strongest improvements in wellbeing for people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared with group activity programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what a typical Tuesday looks like for a resident living with advanced dementia who cannot join a group session. If the answer is vague or defaults to television, that tells you something important about how individual the care really is."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the last full inspection. Ms Maureen Minnie Lewis is both the registered manager and the nominated individual, meaning she carries full operational and regulatory responsibility for the home. This single line of accountability is clearly recorded. The published report contains no further detail about management visibility, staff culture, quality monitoring systems, or how the home handles complaints and concerns.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is linked to 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and communication with families is mentioned in 11.5%. The Good Practice evidence base is unambiguous: stable, visible leadership is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home. The fact that one person holds both the registered manager and nominated individual roles can be a strength, because accountability is concentrated and clear, but it also means the home's quality is heavily dependent on that one person remaining in post. Ask how long Ms Lewis has been in the role, and what the contingency is if she is absent.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that leadership stability, specifically how long a manager had been in post and whether staff felt able to raise concerns without fear, was one of the most consistent predictors of care quality across the homes studied.","watch_out":"Ask Ms Lewis directly how long she has been manager of this home, whether there is a deputy manager, and how concerns from staff or families are escalated. Then ask to see the most recent resident or family satisfaction survey results to see whether feedback is collected and acted on."}

  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 supports residents across a wide age range, including adults under 65, with expertise spanning dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team brings professional expertise to this specialized area of care. Staff understand the complexities involved and work to support each person's individual journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.