Anchorstone Nursing Home

What families say

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth70
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-02-22 · Report published 2023-02-22 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2023 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, safeguarding, and infection control. The previous rating in this domain had been Requires Improvement, so the Good rating reflects genuine progress. The published inspection text does not include specific staffing ratios, falls data, or observations about medicines administration. The home is registered to provide nursing care, which means a registered nurse should be on duty at all times.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families choosing a nursing home for a parent living with dementia, safety is the baseline. Our review data shows that staff attentiveness is mentioned in 14% of positive family reviews, and cleanliness in 24.3%. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in the Safe domain is reassuring, but you should not rely on the rating alone. Good Practice research consistently finds that safety slips most often at night, when staffing is thinnest, and in homes where agency workers who do not know residents well are covering shifts. The published findings do not tell you how many staff are on at night or how much the home relies on agency cover, so you need to ask those questions directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios and continuity of staff are among the strongest predictors of safety outcomes in care homes supporting people with dementia. Homes where agency use is high show measurably worse safety indicators.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask specifically how many carers and seniors are on duty overnight for the 40 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good, covering care planning, dementia training, healthcare access, nutrition, and hydration. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which should mean staff have relevant training, but the published text does not confirm training content, completion rates, or GP access arrangements. No detail is available about how care plans are written or reviewed, or about food quality and menu choice. The improvement from the previous inspection suggests that gaps identified at that time have been addressed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality features in 20.9% of positive family reviews, making it one of the most reliable everyday signals of how well a home is actually caring for your parent. If the food is good, varied, and served without rushing, it usually reflects a wider culture of attentiveness. Our Good Practice evidence base also highlights that care plans should be treated as living documents, updated with family input and reviewed at least monthly for residents with advanced dementia. The Good rating in this domain is positive, but because the published findings contain no specifics, you should ask to read a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and observe a mealtime if you can.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF evidence review found that dementia-specific training that goes beyond basic awareness and covers communication, behavioural understanding, and person-centred approaches is associated with measurably better outcomes for residents. Generic training completion is not sufficient on its own.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training all care staff complete, not just whether they have done it, but what it actually covers. Then ask how often your parent's care plan would be reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute to those reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, covering staff warmth, dignity, respect, and independence. This domain is the one families weight most heavily in our review data, and a Good rating here is the most meaningful single signal in the report. However, the published inspection text includes no direct observations of staff interactions, no resident or family quotes, and no specific examples of how dignity or independence were upheld in practice. The improvement from the previous inspection suggests that concerns in this area have been resolved.","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, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. These are not soft or secondary concerns: they are the things families remember most and that most directly affect your parent's daily experience. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal, particularly for people living with advanced dementia, and that knowing a resident's individual history and preferences is what separates genuine person-centred care from compliance with a checklist. A rating tells you inspectors were satisfied; a visit will tell you whether that warmth is real and consistent.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that person-centred care in dementia settings is most reliably delivered when staff have stable relationships with the people they care for, know their life histories, and are supported by managers to take time rather than task their way through a shift.","watch_out":"Arrive for your visit without announcing exactly when you will come, and spend time in a communal area watching how staff speak to and move around residents. Notice whether interactions are unhurried, whether staff make eye contact, and whether they use the names residents prefer."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good, covering activities, engagement, individuality, and end-of-life care. The home provides care for people living with dementia, so meaningful activity tailored to individual ability is particularly important. The published inspection text does not describe the activity programme, confirm whether one-to-one engagement is offered, or detail how the home supports residents near the end of life. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but no specific evidence is available to confirm what that looks like day to day.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement feature in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. For your parent living with dementia, the question is not just whether there is an activities board on the wall, but whether someone will sit with them individually on a Tuesday afternoon when the group session does not interest them. Good Practice research points to Montessori-based and occupation-led approaches, including everyday tasks like folding, gardening, or simple cooking, as being more effective for people with dementia than structured group entertainment. The inspection does not tell you which approach Anchorstone uses, so this is worth exploring directly.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF evidence review found that one-to-one engagement and occupation-based activities drawn from a resident's own life history produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group entertainment activities alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what they would do with your parent on a day when they did not want to join a group activity. Ask whether the activities programme is based on each resident's individual history and preferences, and ask to see how that is recorded."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good, and a named registered manager, Mrs Hongdi Liu, is confirmed as in post. The nominated individual is Mr Shafiq Govind. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across all five domains under the current leadership team is the clearest positive signal in the report, as it suggests problems were identified, owned, and resolved. The published text does not describe management visibility, staff culture, how complaints are handled, or how the home monitors and improves its own quality.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality features in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families in 11.5%. Good Practice research is consistent on one point: leadership stability predicts quality trajectory. A home that improved from Requires Improvement to Good has demonstrated that it can identify problems and act on them, which is a meaningful signal. What you cannot tell from the rating alone is whether the current manager is still in post (inspections can be over a year old by the time you visit), whether staff feel supported to raise concerns, and whether the culture is genuinely open or just inspectorate-ready.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University evidence review found that care homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear of blame, and where managers are visible on the floor rather than office-bound, consistently outperform homes with equivalent staffing levels but closed leadership cultures.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask to speak to the manager and note whether they are available or whether you are redirected. Ask how long they have been in post and how they found out what needed to improve at the previous inspection. A confident, specific answer is a good sign; a vague one is worth noting."}

  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 at Anchorstone supports residents with dementia alongside general nursing care for older adults.. Gaps or open questions remain on Dementia care forms part of the nursing support available here. The home accepts residents with varying stages of memory loss who need residential care. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.