The Shrubbery Rest Home

What families say

Based on 16 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
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2021-10-12 · Report published 2021-10-12 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2021 inspection, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The published summary does not record specific staffing numbers, night ratios, or details of medicines management. Infection control falls within this domain, and a Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, though no specific premises observations are described. The home cares for people with a range of complex needs across 26 beds, making staffing consistency especially important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A previous Requires Improvement rating in safety, now corrected to Good, is actually a more reassuring sign than a home that has always scraped by on minimum compliance, because it shows the leadership can identify and fix problems. That said, the published text gives you very little to go on in terms of what daily safety looks like. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in smaller care homes, and for a 26-bed home with dementia residents, knowing how many staff are on after 10pm is one of the most important questions you can ask. Ask also about how incidents such as falls are recorded and whether patterns are reviewed at management level.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two factors most strongly associated with safety lapses in residential care. Neither is addressed in the published findings for this home.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not a template. Count the permanent staff names on the night shift and ask how often those shifts are covered by agency workers instead."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the September 2021 inspection, covering care planning, staff training, nutrition, and healthcare access. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors will have considered whether dementia-specific practices are in place. No detail is published about the content of care plans, the frequency of GP involvement, or what dementia training staff have received. Food quality and dietary management also fall under this domain, and a Good rating was awarded, though no mealtime observations are described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that cares for people with dementia and mental health conditions, the Effective rating matters because it covers whether staff actually know what they are doing, not just whether they are kind. Our family review data shows that healthcare and dementia-specific care are among the themes families most want reassurance on. A Good rating here is positive, but the lack of published detail means you cannot tell from this report alone whether your parent's care plan would be a living document updated regularly with your input, or a form completed on admission and rarely revisited. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans updated with family input at least every three months produce significantly better outcomes for people with dementia.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) found that care plans treated as active, regularly reviewed documents, with family members included in reviews, are one of the strongest predictors of person-centred care quality in residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and ask when it was last updated and whether the resident's family was involved in the review. Ask what dementia training staff have completed and when it was last refreshed."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the September 2021 inspection, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. This domain directly reflects the quality of human interaction between staff and the people who live in the home. The published text does not include specific observations of staff interactions, resident quotes, or relative feedback. The move from Requires Improvement to Good in this domain is nonetheless significant and suggests inspectors saw a genuine shift in how care was being delivered.","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 come in at 55.2%. These are not soft extras; they are the core of what makes a care home work for someone living with dementia, who may not be able to tell you if they are unhappy but whose behaviour and body language will show it. The inspection found this domain to be Good, but without published observations you will need to trust what you see on your own visit. Watch how staff greet your parent when you arrive together. Do they address your parent directly, using their preferred name, or do they speak only to you?","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (2026) highlights that non-verbal communication, including tone, pace, and physical proximity, is as important as words for people with advanced dementia, and that staff who move without hurry produce measurably lower levels of agitation in residents.","watch_out":"When you visit, walk the corridor at a busy time such as after breakfast. Notice whether staff stop and make eye contact with residents they pass, or whether they move through the space focused on tasks. Ask the manager what name your parent would be called by, and check that everyone you meet uses it."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the September 2021 inspection, covering activities, individual engagement, complaints handling, and end-of-life care planning. The published text does not describe specific activity programmes, one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot join groups, or how the home tailors activities to individual histories and interests. No mention is made of outdoor access or specialist engagement approaches for people with dementia.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for a combined weighting of nearly 50% in our family review analysis, and the two are closely connected. A Good rating in the Responsive domain is encouraging, but our review data and the Good Practice evidence both show that the difference between a good home and an excellent one often comes down to whether activities are truly individual or simply a group programme that residents are expected to attend. For someone with advanced dementia who can no longer join a group sing-along, the question is what happens instead. That one-to-one time, perhaps folding laundry, looking through a memory box, or tending a small plant, is where real quality of life is made or lost.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review (2026) found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday purposeful tasks, rather than structured group activities alone, produce the strongest outcomes for wellbeing and settled behaviour in people with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (or the manager if there is no dedicated coordinator) what would happen for your parent on a day when they could not or did not want to join a group activity. Ask for a specific example of a recent one-to-one engagement session and what it involved."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the September 2021 inspection, the strongest indicator of sustainable improvement in a home that previously held a Requires Improvement rating. The home has a named registered manager and a named nominated individual, both recorded in the inspection report. The published text does not describe management visibility, staff culture, or how the home handles feedback and complaints in specific terms. A subsequent review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring reassessment of the rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence review. A home that improved to Good under its current management team, and then maintained that rating at a 2023 monitoring review, is showing exactly the kind of trajectory you want to see. Management stability is also relevant to our family review data, where 23.4% of positive reviews specifically mention approachable and visible leadership. On your visit, try to meet the registered manager in person rather than just a senior carer. Ask how long they have been in post and what the biggest change they made after the previous inspection was.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review (2026) found that management tenure of more than two years, combined with a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, is the single strongest structural predictor of sustained Good or Outstanding ratings in small residential care homes.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly how long they have been in post and what specific changes were made after the Requires Improvement rating. A manager who can answer this clearly and with detail is a good sign; one who is vague or deflects the question is a reason to probe further."}

  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 with physical disabilities, sensory impairments, and mental health conditions. They provide care for adults both under and over 65, adapting their approach to suit different age groups and care needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on The Shrubbery Rest Home includes dementia among their care specialisms. They accommodate residents living with dementia alongside those with other support needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.