Broomfield Residential Care

What families say

Families describe a bright, welcoming space where residents quickly form friendships over shared activities. The home runs a full programme of crafts, singing sessions and visiting entertainers, with staff skilled at drawing everyone in at their own pace. Even family dogs get a warm welcome during visits.

Based on 19 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 2023-02-17 · Report published 2023-02-17 · Inspected 7 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, representing an improvement from the previous inspection. The published report does not detail specific findings about staffing numbers, night cover, medicines management, or incident-learning systems. The home is registered to provide personal care for up to 40 adults, including people living with dementia, which means safe practice around medicines, falls prevention, and consistent staffing is especially important. No concerns were flagged in the published text, but the absence of specific evidence means families cannot confirm the detail independently from this report alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety after a previous Requires Improvement is genuinely encouraging, because it suggests the home identified what was going wrong and fixed it. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is the point where safety most often slips in residential dementia care, and our family review data identifies staff attentiveness as a key concern in 14% of positive reviews. Because the inspection text does not record specific staffing ratios or agency use figures, you will need to ask these questions directly when you visit. The improvement trajectory is positive, but the detail behind it is not visible in the published findings.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (2026) found that inconsistent or agency-heavy staffing is one of the strongest predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care, particularly on night shifts when permanent staff knowledge of individual residents matters most.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota, not the template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask specifically what the night-time staffing ratio is for the dementia residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, again an improvement from a previous Requires Improvement. The published text does not record specific findings about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training content, or food provision. The home specialises in dementia care for adults over 65, which means effective practice in this domain depends heavily on staff training, regularly reviewed care plans, and responsive healthcare access. No concerns were raised, but specific supporting evidence is not present in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, what inspectors mean by effective care includes whether staff understand how dementia changes a person's ability to communicate, eat, and make decisions. Food quality appears in 20.9% of positive family reviews, and Good Practice evidence highlights care plans as living documents that should be updated as your parent's needs change, not filed and forgotten. Because the inspection findings do not describe what dementia training staff have received or how often care plans are reviewed, these are questions you need to ask directly. The Good rating is a positive signal, but ask for the substance behind it.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training, particularly around non-verbal communication and person-centred approaches, significantly improves the quality of daily care interactions and reduces distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: what dementia training have care staff completed in the last 12 months, and can you show me an example of how a care plan is updated when a resident's needs change? Ask to see how family members are involved in care plan reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated caring as Good. The published text does not include specific inspector observations about staff interactions, use of preferred names, response to distress, or privacy and dignity in practice. The home cares for people living with dementia, where the quality of everyday interactions, tone of voice, unhurried pace, and knowledge of the individual, matters as much as formal care processes. No concerns were recorded, but the absence of direct observations or resident and relative quotes means families cannot verify the texture of daily care 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 appear in 55.2%. What families most want to know is whether staff genuinely know their parent as a person, not just as a set of care needs. The inspection did not record specific observations of staff behaviour, which is unusual for a Good caring rating and means you need to observe this yourself. On your visit, watch what happens in corridor moments when no one thinks they are being assessed, and notice whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication, including pace, eye contact, and tone, is as important as verbal interaction for people living with dementia, and that person-centred caring requires staff to know the individual's history, preferences, and personality, not just their diagnosis.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for at least 15 minutes and watch how staff approach and speak to residents who are not calling for help. Do they crouch to eye level, use names, and move without hurry? This tells you more than any answer to a direct question."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated responsive as Good. The published text does not describe the activity programme, individual engagement for people who cannot join group activities, or how the home adapts to changing needs and preferences. For a home specialising in dementia care, responsiveness includes whether your parent has meaningful things to do each day tailored to who they are, not just what is available for everyone. No concerns were raised, but without specific findings it is not possible to assess whether activities are genuinely individual or primarily group-based.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness is a factor in 27.1%. Good Practice evidence is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate or advanced dementia, who benefit most from individual, one-to-one engagement and familiar everyday tasks that connect with their life history. Because the inspection does not describe what actually happens here on a typical Tuesday afternoon, you need to ask and observe this directly. A varied planned programme on a notice board is not the same as someone sitting with your parent and doing something meaningful together.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and life-history approaches, and the use of familiar household tasks as meaningful activity, significantly reduce distress and improve wellbeing in people living with dementia, particularly those who can no longer participate in structured group sessions.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities log for the past two weeks, not just the planned programme. Look for evidence of one-to-one time with residents who stay in their rooms or cannot join groups. Ask how staff find out about a new resident's hobbies, routines, and life history before they move in."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated well-led as Good, and this domain improved from a previous Requires Improvement rating alongside all others. The home has a named registered manager, Mrs Jaime Suzanne Albon, and a nominated individual, Mr Rahim Ismail. The published text does not describe how the manager is present and known to staff and residents, how the home learned from the previous inspection's concerns, or what governance systems are in place. The improvement across all five domains from a previous Requires Improvement is the strongest available signal of effective leadership, but the specifics are not documented in the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management leadership appears in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory more reliably than almost any other single factor. The fact that this home moved from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains is a meaningful achievement and suggests the manager took the previous inspection seriously. However, because the report does not tell you how long the current manager has been in post, whether staff feel supported to raise concerns, or how the home communicates with families, you need to ask these questions directly. A manager who welcomes your questions and gives specific rather than vague answers is itself a positive sign.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that homes with stable, visible management and a culture where staff feel safe to raise concerns consistently outperform homes where leadership is remote or frequently changing, particularly in dementia care settings where staff need confident day-to-day decision-making support.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post here, what were the main changes you made after the previous inspection, and how do you keep families informed when something goes wrong with their parent's care? Listen for specific answers rather than general reassurances."}

  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 living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff here understand that dementia affects everyone differently. They give residents the time they need, whether that's joining in group activities or preferring quieter moments, always maintaining their dignity through every stage. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.