Ashbourne Lodge Rest Home

What families say

Visitors mention how caring and helpful the staff are, creating an atmosphere where residents appear genuinely happy. People comment on the dignity and respect shown in daily care, with staff taking time to know each resident as an individual.

Based on 9 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 2022-08-05 · Report published 2022-08-05 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This means inspectors were broadly satisfied with how the home manages risk, staffing, medicines, and infection control. However, the published report does not record specific staffing numbers, medicine audit outcomes, or examples of how the home has learned from incidents or near-misses. No concerns were flagged, but the absence of detail means the evidence base for families is thin.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is the baseline you need, but it is not the full picture. Good Practice research highlights that night staffing is the point where safety most commonly slips in small residential homes. For a 24-bed home like this one, ask specifically how many staff are on duty overnight and whether a senior carer or manager is always present. Agency staff reliance is another risk factor: consistent faces matter enormously for people living with dementia, who can become distressed when routines and familiar staff change. The inspection did not record this level of detail, so you will need to ask.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care. Homes with stable, permanent night teams consistently show better outcomes.","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 staff, particularly on nights. For 24 residents, there should be at least two carers on overnight, with a senior member of staff available."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors will have looked at whether staff have appropriate training and whether care plans reflect individual needs. No specific training records, care plan examples, GP access arrangements, or food quality evidence are described in the published summary. The rating is positive, but the published detail does not allow families to verify what effective care looks like day to day.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent living with dementia, effective care means more than ticking training boxes. It means staff who know your mum or dad as an individual, care plans that are reviewed regularly as needs change, and reliable access to a GP when health problems arise. Good Practice research identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated at least monthly for people with advancing dementia, and families should be included in those reviews. Food quality is also a meaningful indicator: when a home genuinely knows its residents, it reflects that in offering choices that match individual preferences and textures suited to swallowing difficulties. The inspection does not record this level of detail here, so ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that homes rated highly for effectiveness consistently involve families in care plan reviews and update plans in response to changes in behaviour or health, rather than on a fixed annual cycle.","watch_out":"Ask to see your parent's draft care plan before they move in, or an example care plan with identifying details removed. Ask how often it is reviewed, who attends those reviews, and how you will be told if something changes between formal review dates."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This domain is the one that most closely reflects whether staff are kind, whether your parent's dignity is respected, and whether their independence is supported. No inspector observations of staff interactions, no resident quotes, and no family testimony are recorded in the published summary. The rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but families have no specific evidence to draw on from this report.","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 not abstract qualities: they show up in whether staff knock before entering a room, use your parent's preferred name without being reminded, and move at an unhurried pace during personal care. Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as what staff say, particularly for people with advanced dementia who may not be able to express distress verbally. None of this can be assessed from the published report. Observe it yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"Research from the Good Practice evidence base found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual beyond their care plan, including their history, preferences, and what brings them comfort. Homes where staff routinely use preferred names and personalise interactions show measurably higher resident wellbeing scores.","watch_out":"When you visit, walk through a communal area during a quiet moment and watch how staff interact with residents who are not asking for anything. Are staff sitting with residents, making eye contact, and using names? Or are interactions task-focused and brief? This is one of the most reliable signals of genuine caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors its care and activities to individual needs, responds to complaints, and plans appropriately for end-of-life care. No activity schedules, examples of individual engagement, complaint records, or advance care planning evidence are described in the published summary. The Good rating means inspectors were satisfied, but families cannot verify what responsive care looks like in practice from the information available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is mentioned in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities account for a further 21.4%. For a person living with dementia, activities are not optional extras: Good Practice research shows that tailored, meaningful engagement, including everyday tasks like folding laundry or tending plants, reduces anxiety and sustains a sense of identity and purpose. Group activities alone are not enough, particularly for people in the more advanced stages of dementia who may not be able to participate. Ask specifically what the home offers your parent one to one. End-of-life planning is also part of being responsive: ask whether conversations about wishes and preferences happen early, and how these are recorded and shared.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including familiar household tasks, significantly reduce distress and improve wellbeing in people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared with group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity schedule for the past two weeks. Check whether activities are recorded as group-only or whether individual sessions are also listed. Ask what the home would offer your parent on a day when they cannot engage with a group, and who would sit with them."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the July 2022 inspection. A registered manager, Miss Daniella Leanne Pollard, is named in the registration record, alongside a nominated individual, Mrs Simay Gucver. Having both roles filled is a positive governance indicator. The published report does not describe the manager's visibility on the floor, how staff are supported, how feedback is gathered from residents and families, or how the home has responded to any incidents or complaints since the last inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in care homes. Good Practice research found that homes with consistent leadership, where the manager is known by name to residents and staff, tend to maintain or improve their ratings over time. Communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews, and families consistently say they want to feel like partners in their parent's care, not recipients of occasional updates. The inspection does not tell us how visible the manager is day to day, or how the home handles concerns raised by families. Ask these questions directly before you make your decision.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear are the two factors most strongly associated with sustained quality in small residential care homes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post, and ask to meet them in person during your visit rather than just being introduced briefly. Ask how you would raise a concern if something worried you about your parent's care, and what happened the last time a family raised a concern with the home."}

  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 cares for people over 65, with particular experience supporting those with physical disabilities. They also provide specialist dementia care.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team understands how to support people living with dementia, creating routines and activities that help residents feel settled and engaged. Their approach combines professional nursing care with genuine warmth. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.