Brownscombe Care Residency
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Nursing homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds55
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
- Last inspected2023-07-08
- Activities programmeThe home feels bright and modern, with en-suite wet rooms in every bedroom and well-maintained grounds where residents can watch the birds at thoughtfully placed feeders. Meals arrive hot and appetising, with proper variety on the menus. Families mention how clean everything is kept, from the communal areas to individual rooms.
- Visit Website
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
Families describe a place where staff take time to chat with residents, learning about their past interests and weaving these into daily life. There's a real sense of patience here — staff who sit and listen, who remember what makes each person smile. The activities programme runs throughout the week with chair yoga, arts sessions and seasonal celebrations, but nothing's forced. People join in when they want to, at their own pace.
Based on 25 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth72
- Compassion & dignity72
- Cleanliness72
- Activities & engagement65
- Food quality65
- Healthcare70
- Management & leadership70
- Resident happiness70
What inspectors found
Inspected 2023-07-08 · Report published 2023-07-08 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at the April 2023 inspection. The home is registered to provide nursing care, meaning qualified nurses should be available around the clock. The published inspection text does not include specific detail on staffing numbers, falls management, medicines administration, or infection control practices. No concerns were identified by inspectors in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means inspectors did not find significant risks to your parent at the time of their visit. However, the published findings give no specific detail on night staffing ratios, agency staff use, or how the home responds to falls. Good Practice research consistently shows that safety is most likely to slip at night, when staffing is thinnest. For a 55-bed nursing home with a dementia specialism, you should ask directly: how many carers and how many nurses are on duty after 10pm? The answer will tell you more than the rating alone.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are a key predictor of safety outcomes in care homes, and that agency staff unfamiliar with individual residents present a particular risk for people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not a template. Count permanent names versus agency names, especially on the night shifts, and ask what the minimum staffing level is for 55 beds overnight."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at the April 2023 inspection. It is registered for nursing care, dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, which is a broad range of needs requiring varied expertise. The published inspection text does not describe care plan quality, dementia training content, GP access arrangements, or how food and nutrition are managed. No concerns were raised in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness covers whether staff actually know what they are doing for your parent's specific condition, not just whether they are kind. For people living with dementia, this means understanding how dementia changes communication, behaviour, and eating, and then adapting care accordingly. Our Good Practice evidence base found that care plans which are updated regularly and include personal history, preferred routines, and known triggers make a measurable difference to wellbeing. The inspection did not record this level of detail, so you need to ask specifically what dementia training staff have completed and when. Food quality is one of the clearest markers of genuine care, and it is not described here either, so eating a meal at the home on your visit is strongly recommended.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (61 studies) found that dementia-specific training, particularly training that addresses non-verbal communication and behavioural responses, directly improves the quality of day-to-day care interactions.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed in the past 12 months, what level it is accredited to, and whether it covers communication with people who have lost verbal language. Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised) to check whether it records your parent as an individual, not just a list of medical needs."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at the April 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how independently residents are supported to live. The published inspection text does not include specific observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about feeling cared for, or descriptions of how dignity is maintained during personal care. No concerns were identified in this domain.","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 follow closely at 55.2%. A Good rating in caring is encouraging, but without specific inspector observations or resident quotes in the published text, it is not possible to tell you what this looks like day to day at Brownscombe Residency. On your visit, watch how staff greet your parent at the door, whether they use their preferred name without being prompted, and whether any interaction feels hurried. These small signals are the most reliable indicators of a genuinely caring culture.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research identifies non-verbal communication, including eye contact, unhurried body language, and using touch appropriately, as equally important as verbal kindness for people living with dementia who may have lost the ability to process words.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask a staff member to introduce themselves to your parent (or to you, using your parent's name). Notice whether they crouch or sit to make eye contact rather than standing over them, and whether they wait for a response before moving on. This tells you more than any policy document."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at the April 2023 inspection. This domain covers whether care is tailored to individuals, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether the home responds to complaints and changing needs. The published inspection text does not describe the activities programme, individual engagement for people living with advanced dementia, or how the home handles complaints. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Responsiveness is about whether your parent will have a life here, not just be looked after. Activities engagement features in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. Good Practice evidence strongly supports the value of individual, one-to-one engagement for people living with dementia who cannot join group sessions, including familiar household tasks, music from their era, or sensory activities. The inspection does not tell us whether Brownscombe Residency provides this. Ask specifically about what a typical Tuesday looks like for a resident with moderate dementia who does not enjoy group activities.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and the integration of familiar everyday tasks into daily routines, such as folding, sorting, or simple cooking, significantly improve engagement and reduce distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities timetable for the past four weeks, not a printed template. Look for evidence of individual activities as well as group ones, and ask who leads activities on weekends and bank holidays, when cover is often reduced."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at the April 2023 inspection. A registered manager, Mrs Ana Maria Mitu, is confirmed in post. The home is owned by Mr Liakatali Hasham and Mrs Ana Maria Mitu. The published inspection text does not describe the management culture, whether staff feel able to speak up, how governance and auditing work, or whether the manager is visible and known to residents and families. No concerns were identified in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good leadership is the foundation everything else rests on. Management quality features in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and communication with families in 11.5%. Good Practice research shows that leadership stability, meaning a manager who has been in post long enough to know residents and staff well, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality. The inspection confirms the manager is in post but does not tell us how long she has been there, whether she is known on the floor, or how openly staff can raise concerns. Ask how long the current manager has been in her role and whether she is present during the week and at weekends.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that bottom-up empowerment, specifically whether frontline staff feel they can raise concerns without fear, is a reliable indicator of a culture that will catch and correct problems before they escalate.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long she has been in post and what the biggest change she has made since arriving has been. Then ask a care worker the same question separately. If the answers align, that is a good sign of an open, consistent culture."}
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 adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairments and dementia, accepting residents from young adulthood onwards. Staff have specific training in dementia care, and residents can stay at Brownscombe if this develops later.. Gaps or open questions remain on What stands out is the continuity — residents don't need to move if dementia develops, because the team already has the training and understanding to adapt their support. Activities and daily routines flex around what each person can manage, keeping connections alive even as abilities change. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.
The DCC Verdict
Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.
DCC Family Score
Brownscombe Residency received a Good rating across all five inspection domains in April 2023, which is a solid and stable result. However, the published inspection text provides limited specific detail, so many scores reflect positive but general findings rather than rich, observable evidence.
Homes in South East typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families describe a place where staff take time to chat with residents, learning about their past interests and weaving these into daily life. There's a real sense of patience here — staff who sit and listen, who remember what makes each person smile. The activities programme runs throughout the week with chair yoga, arts sessions and seasonal celebrations, but nothing's forced. People join in when they want to, at their own pace.
What inspectors have recorded
The manager stays visible and approachable, making time to talk with families about their loved one's care. When difficult times come, particularly at end of life, families find themselves supported with flexibility around visiting and genuine emotional care. Though a couple of families have mentioned times when staff were harder to find during visits, the overall picture is one of attentiveness and professional warmth.
How it sits against good practice
For families facing these difficult decisions, knowing there's somewhere that combines professional expertise with genuine human connection makes all the difference.
Worth a visit
Brownscombe Residency, on Hindhead Road in Haslemere, was rated Good across all five inspection domains following an inspection in April 2023. The home provides nursing and personal care for up to 55 people, including those living with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments. A Good rating across every domain is a genuinely positive outcome and suggests inspectors found no significant concerns in safety, staffing, care quality, or leadership. The registered manager is named and confirmed in post, which is an important baseline for stability. The main limitation of this report is that the published inspection text is very brief, providing a rating but almost no descriptive detail. This means it is not possible to tell you specifically what inspectors saw, what residents said, or what the home does well in practice. Before making a decision, visit the home in person, ideally at a mealtime. Ask the manager to show you last week's actual staffing rota (including nights), ask what dementia training staff have completed in the past 12 months, and observe whether staff use your parent's preferred name and move at an unhurried pace. The Good rating is reassuring, but your own visit observations are essential here.
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In Their Own Words
How Brownscombe Care Residency describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where residents stay connected through meaningful days and genuine warmth
Dedicated nursing home Support in Haslemere
Finding the right place for someone who needs specialist support can feel overwhelming, especially when you're looking for somewhere that truly understands different needs. Brownscombe Residency in Haslemere offers care for people with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments, with the flexibility to support residents as their needs change over time. The home welcomes both younger adults and those over 65, creating a community where everyone's individual story matters.
Who they care for
The home cares for adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairments and dementia, accepting residents from young adulthood onwards. Staff have specific training in dementia care, and residents can stay at Brownscombe if this develops later.
What stands out is the continuity — residents don't need to move if dementia develops, because the team already has the training and understanding to adapt their support. Activities and daily routines flex around what each person can manage, keeping connections alive even as abilities change.
Management & ethos
The manager stays visible and approachable, making time to talk with families about their loved one's care. When difficult times come, particularly at end of life, families find themselves supported with flexibility around visiting and genuine emotional care. Though a couple of families have mentioned times when staff were harder to find during visits, the overall picture is one of attentiveness and professional warmth.
The home & environment
The home feels bright and modern, with en-suite wet rooms in every bedroom and well-maintained grounds where residents can watch the birds at thoughtfully placed feeders. Meals arrive hot and appetising, with proper variety on the menus. Families mention how clean everything is kept, from the communal areas to individual rooms.
“For families facing these difficult decisions, knowing there's somewhere that combines professional expertise with genuine human connection makes all the difference.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
