Ashley Gardens Care Home

What families say

Families describe genuine warmth from the moment they first make contact. Staff take time to really engage with residents, and there's a structured programme of activities that gives each day meaning and purpose. The atmosphere feels naturally friendly rather than forced, with staff who seem to genuinely enjoy their work.

Based on 23 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 & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-06-19 · Report published 2019-06-19 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for safety, but the published report does not include specific observations on staffing levels, medicines management, falls recording, or infection control. There is no information on night staffing ratios for the 47-bed home. Agency staff usage is not mentioned. The absence of detail means the Good rating reflects inspector satisfaction at the time, but families will need to ask directly about the specifics that underpin it.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is what most families name first when choosing a care home, and rightly so. The Good rating for this domain means inspectors did not find the kinds of gaps that lead to Requires Improvement findings, such as missed medicines, inadequate staffing, or poor incident recording. However, Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in residential homes: a home that is well-staffed during the day may run on minimal cover after 8pm. With 47 residents, including people living with dementia who may be unsettled at night, the overnight staffing ratio matters enormously. The inspection provides no data on this, so you will need to ask.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of care inconsistency and safety risk. Permanent staff know residents' routines and can spot early signs of deterioration; agency workers, however competent, cannot replicate that familiarity quickly.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not the template. Count how many permanent staff names appear on night shifts and how many are marked as agency. For 47 residents that include people living with dementia, you are looking for at least two carers on at night plus a senior or nurse on call."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for effectiveness, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published report does not include specific observations on any of these areas. There is no mention of dementia training content, care plan review frequency, GP access arrangements, or food quality. The rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied, but the evidence base available to families is very thin.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home is about whether staff actually know your parent as an individual and can adapt their approach as needs change. Our Good Practice evidence base, drawn from 61 studies, identifies care plans as living documents that should be reviewed at least monthly and updated after any significant change in health or behaviour. It also highlights that dementia-specific training, particularly in non-verbal communication and distress recognition, makes a measurable difference to resident wellbeing. The inspection confirms the home met the Good threshold in this domain, but it does not tell you whether care plans include your parent's life history, preferred routines, or food preferences. Food quality is cited in 20.9% of positive family reviews as a direct indicator of genuine care. Ask to see a menu and, if possible, have a meal there yourself.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes where care plans are co-produced with families and updated after every significant health change produce measurably better outcomes for people living with dementia, including reduced behavioural distress and fewer unplanned hospital admissions.","watch_out":"Ask when your parent's care plan would first be written, who contributes to it, and how often it is formally reviewed. Then ask to see an example of a current resident's plan (anonymised) to judge the level of individual detail it contains."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for caring, which covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, quotes from residents or relatives, or specific examples of how dignity is maintained. The rating tells you inspectors found no significant concerns, but it does not describe what care actually looks and feels like on the floor.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, cited in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are also the themes that are hardest to judge from a published report and easiest to assess in person. What to look for on a visit: do staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted? Do they make eye contact and pause rather than talk while moving? Do they knock before entering a room? These small, observable behaviours are the real markers of a caring culture. The Good rating here means inspectors did not find the opposite: staff being dismissive, rushed, or disrespectful. But you need to observe the positive for yourself.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal interaction for people living with dementia. Homes where staff consistently use eye level, calm tone, and unhurried pace report lower levels of agitation among residents, regardless of cognitive stage.","watch_out":"On your visit, find a moment when a staff member is supporting a resident who did not invite the interaction. Watch whether the staff member introduces themselves, explains what they are doing, and waits for a response before proceeding. This single observation tells you more about caring culture than any policy document."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for responsiveness, which covers activities, individual engagement, and how well the home adapts to each person's changing needs. The published report does not include any detail on the activities programme, one-to-one engagement for residents who cannot join groups, or how the home responds to complaints and feedback. There is no mention of end-of-life care planning. As with the other domains, the rating confirms the inspection threshold was met, but the detail families need is not in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is the third most cited theme in our positive review data, mentioned in 27.1% of reviews. Families consistently describe it in terms of whether their parent has something meaningful to do, not just whether they are physically comfortable. For people living with dementia, activities engagement is particularly important: Good Practice research identifies Montessori-based approaches, everyday household tasks, and one-to-one engagement as far more effective than group sessions alone for people at moderate to advanced stages of dementia. A home that runs a daily group activity session but has no plan for your mum on an afternoon when she cannot or will not join the group is not truly responsive. The inspection does not tell you which model Ashley Gardens uses, so you need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that one-to-one, tailored activity is consistently associated with reduced agitation and improved mood in people living with dementia, and that group-only activity programmes often exclude the residents who need engagement most.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (or the manager if there is no dedicated coordinator) what happens on a typical Tuesday afternoon for a resident who is living with moderate dementia and does not want to join the group session. A specific, confident answer suggests genuine individual planning. A vague or generic answer suggests the group programme is the whole offer."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection awarded a Good rating for well-led, and the report names Mrs Madel De Vera Wrobel as the registered manager and Mr Zulfikar Karmali as the nominated individual. Beyond this, the published report provides no information on the manager's tenure, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home responds to complaints and incidents. The rating indicates that inspectors found the leadership satisfactory, but families will need to form their own view through direct contact.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality is cited in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families matters to 11.5% of reviewers. Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory: homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years and is visible to both staff and residents consistently outperform those with frequent management changes. The Good rating here is reassuring, but it is a point-in-time assessment from July 2025. Ask how long the current manager has been in post, whether staff feel able to raise concerns, and how the home has changed in the last 12 months. A manager who can answer those questions with specifics and examples is a strong sign.","evidence_base":"Leeds Beckett University research found that homes with stable, visible leadership and a culture where care staff can raise concerns without fear consistently achieve better outcomes for residents, including fewer safeguarding referrals and lower staff turnover.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly: how long have you been in this role, and what is the one thing you have changed about how this home operates in the last year? The answer to the second question tells you whether the leadership is active and improving or simply maintaining the status quo."}

  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 Ashley Gardens specialises in dementia care, mental health conditions, and supporting adults over 65. The team has particular experience helping residents who arrive feeling distressed or unsettled find their equilibrium again.. Gaps or open questions remain on Several families have noticed their loved ones becoming calmer and less tearful after moving here. The combination of consistent routines, understanding staff, and a dementia-friendly environment seems to help residents feel more secure and content. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.