Bon Accord Care Home

What families say

Families mention how friendly and courteous the carers are when they visit. Staff take time to interact warmly with both residents and their relatives, creating a welcoming atmosphere throughout the home.

Based on 7 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness65
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership42
• Resident happiness65

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-07-05 · Report published 2023-07-05

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"Safe was rated Good at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and whether the home responds appropriately when things go wrong. No specific concerns were flagged in this domain. The published report text does not include detail on night staffing ratios, falls records, or agency staff usage, so these remain questions to ask directly.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safe is reassuring, but for families choosing a home for someone with dementia, the detail behind the rating matters as much as the label. Good Practice research from the IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in care homes. The published inspection text does not confirm what night cover looks like at Bon Accord for its 41 beds, and that is a gap worth closing before you decide. Agency staff usage is another factor worth exploring: consistent, familiar faces matter enormously to people with dementia, and high agency reliance can undermine the stability they need.","evidence_base":"The 2026 Good Practice review found that learning from incidents, rather than simply recording them, is a reliable marker of a well-run home. Ask how Bon Accord analyses falls and near misses, and what changes have been made as a result.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not a template. Count permanent versus agency names, and ask how many carers are on the floor overnight for the full 41 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, access to healthcare professionals such as GPs and nurses, and whether nutritional needs are met. The Good rating indicates the home met the required standard across these areas. The published report does not include specific observations about dementia training content, care plan review frequency, or how the home involves families in care planning decisions.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effective means inspectors were satisfied that staff have the knowledge and tools to care well. For families placing a parent with dementia, the most important question within this domain is whether care plans are genuinely personalised, reviewed regularly, and built with your input. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans work best when treated as living documents updated in partnership with families, not paperwork completed at admission and left unchanged. Food is part of effective care too: how a home manages nutrition, hydration, and individual dietary preferences is a practical, observable signal of whether care is truly person-led.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that dementia training quality varies enormously between homes, even those with Good ratings. Training that covers non-verbal communication and behavioural understanding produces meaningfully better outcomes than tick-box compliance courses.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed, when it was last refreshed, and whether it covers recognising distress in someone who cannot express it verbally. Ask to see the training log if you can."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers how staff treat the people who live here: whether interactions are warm and unhurried, whether privacy and dignity are respected, and whether people are supported to maintain independence. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with what they observed and heard. The published report text does not include direct inspector observations or resident and family quotes that would allow a more specific picture.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive Google reviews across more than 5,000 UK care homes. Compassion and dignity are close behind at 55.2%. A Good rating for Caring is meaningful because inspectors observe interactions directly, but because the published text from this inspection does not include specific observations, you cannot rely on the rating alone. When you visit, pay attention to how staff speak to residents in corridors and communal spaces, whether they use preferred names, and whether they seem hurried or at ease. These small details, visible in minutes, tell you more than any rating.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia. Homes where staff make eye contact, use a calm tone, and approach unhurriedly produce better wellbeing outcomes even when verbal communication is limited.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for 15 minutes without announcing why. Watch whether staff stop to speak to residents passing by, whether they crouch to eye level, and whether the pace feels calm or rushed."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good at the February 2023 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors care to individual needs, provides meaningful activities, responds to complaints, and supports people well at end of life. The Good rating indicates the home met the required standard. The published report text does not include specific descriptions of the activity programme, individual engagement for people who cannot join group activities, or how the home manages end-of-life planning.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness account for 27.1% and 21.4% respectively of what families highlight in positive reviews, making this domain one of the most personally important areas to explore. A Good rating for Responsive is a reasonable starting point, but the real question is what daily life actually looks like for your parent specifically. Good Practice research highlights that group activities alone are not enough, particularly for people with more advanced dementia, and that one-to-one engagement and everyday household tasks can provide meaningful stimulation when group participation is no longer possible. The inspection findings do not describe what Bon Accord does in this space, so you will need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks, such as folding, sorting, and simple cooking activities, produce better engagement and reduced agitation in people with dementia than structured group entertainment sessions.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what a typical Tuesday looks like for a resident with moderate dementia who struggles to join group sessions. If the answer focuses only on group activities, press further on what individual engagement looks like and how often it happens."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Requires Improvement at the February 2023 inspection. This is the only domain where Bon Accord did not meet the Good standard. The home has a named registered manager, Mrs Marion Janine Conway, and a nominated individual, Mr Gabriel Ackermann. The published report text does not set out the specific governance gaps or actions required, but a Requires Improvement in this domain means inspectors identified weaknesses in oversight, accountability, or quality monitoring that need to be addressed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of what families value in our review data, and Good Practice research is unequivocal that leadership stability and quality are the strongest predictors of a home's trajectory over time. A Requires Improvement here, sitting alongside four Good domain ratings, is a genuine concern rather than a minor technical point. It means that at the time of inspection, the systems used to check whether the home is working well were not robust enough. The important question now is what has changed since February 2023. Inspections do not happen continuously, and if improvements have been made and embedded, the picture may be more positive than the rating suggests.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that homes with stable, visible leadership where staff feel safe to raise concerns without fear produce consistently better care outcomes than homes where governance is centralised or distant from day-to-day life.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly: what specific improvements were made following the Requires Improvement finding in Well-led, and has there been any follow-up contact with the inspectorate since the report was published in July 2023? A confident, detailed answer is reassuring. Vagueness is a signal 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 team supports residents with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. They also care for younger adults under 65 and those with sensory impairments including sight and hearing loss.. Gaps or open questions remain on Families have found the nursing team understands the specific challenges of dementia care. The staff adapt their approach for residents who also have visual or hearing impairments alongside their dementia. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.