Dell House Residential Care Home

What families say

Based on 3 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
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2021-12-30 · Report published 2021-12-30

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain is rated Good, indicating that inspectors found no significant concerns around safety, medicines management, staffing, or infection control at the time of the December 2021 inspection. Dell House is registered to support people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments u2014 all of which carry specific safety considerations. The July 2023 review found no reason to change this rating. However, the published report does not include specific findings about staffing ratios, night cover, falls management, or how the home learns from safety incidents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is reassuring as a starting point, but for a home supporting people with dementia, the detail behind the rating matters enormously. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness u2014 whether someone is actually watching and responding u2014 is one of the things families worry about most, particularly at night. Good Practice research consistently finds that night-time is when safety most often slips in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency your parent needs. You cannot tell from this report how many permanent staff are on overnight, or how often agency staff are used u2014 these are questions you must ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care home settings u2014 yet these are rarely detailed in published inspection reports.","watch_out":"Ask the home: 'How many permanent staff are on the dementia unit between 10pm and 7am, and how often do you use agency staff to cover those shifts?' If the answer is vague, press for a typical week in the last month."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain is rated Good, suggesting inspectors were satisfied with care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and nutrition at the time of inspection. Dell House lists dementia as a specialism, which implies a requirement for dementia-specific training and care approaches. No specific findings about care plan content, GP access frequency, medication management, or food quality are available in the published text. The July 2023 review did not flag any deterioration in this area.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your mum or dad living with dementia, 'effective' care means staff who genuinely know them u2014 their history, their preferences, what agitates them, what calms them u2014 and who keep that knowledge current as the condition changes. Our family review data shows that dementia-specific care and food quality are both in the top concerns families raise. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans need to be living documents reviewed with family input, not paperwork filed away. The absence of detail in this report means you need to ask to see how care plans are structured and how recently your parent's would be reviewed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plans as living documents u2014 regularly updated with family involvement u2014 as a key marker of genuinely person-centred dementia care, distinct from compliance-level care planning.","watch_out":"Ask to see a blank care plan template and ask: 'How often are care plans reviewed, and would we as a family be invited to contribute to that review?' A good home will have a clear answer and a process u2014 not just a yes."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain is rated Good, indicating inspectors found staff interactions, dignity, and respect to be satisfactory during the December 2021 inspection. No specific observations about how staff speak to residents, respond to distress, or support independence are documented in the available text. No resident or family quotes are recorded. For a home with a dementia specialism, the quality of moment-to-moment interactions u2014 especially non-verbal communication u2014 is central to what caring actually looks and feels like.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is by far the most important theme in our family review data, weighted at 57.3% u2014 it is what families remember and what your parent will experience every single day. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. Good Practice research is clear that for people living with dementia, how something is said and the body language used often matters more than the words themselves. A Good rating in this domain is positive, but the absence of specific evidence means you should observe directly: watch how staff greet your parent on arrival, whether they use preferred names, and whether anyone is left sitting alone without acknowledgement.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlights that non-verbal communication u2014 tone, pace, touch, eye contact u2014 is the primary channel of emotional connection for people with advanced dementia, and that person-led care requires staff to know the individual, not just follow a care plan.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit quietly in a communal area for 15 minutes and watch how staff pass through: do they make eye contact, smile, and use residents' names? Or do they move through the space without engaging? This tells you more than any conversation with management."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain is rated Good, covering activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life care planning. No specific activity types, individual tailoring approaches, or end-of-life planning practices are described in the published report. For a 70-bed home supporting people with dementia and physical disabilities, the range and individualisation of activities u2014 particularly for those who cannot join group sessions u2014 is a critical quality marker that this report does not illuminate.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that resident happiness u2014 whether your parent seems content and engaged u2014 accounts for 27.1% of what families say matters most, and activities and engagement score 21.4%. Good Practice research specifically highlights the importance of tailored individual activities, not just group sessions, particularly for people with advanced dementia who may be unable to participate in organised events. A Montessori-based approach u2014 using familiar household tasks and objects to create meaningful moments u2014 is one of the strongest evidence-based approaches for this group. This report gives you no detail on whether Dell House uses any of these approaches.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that group-only activity programmes frequently exclude people with more advanced dementia, and that one-to-one engagement u2014 including familiar everyday tasks u2014 is the most effective way to support wellbeing in this group.","watch_out":"Ask: 'What would a typical Tuesday look like for my parent if they couldn't join a group activity u2014 who would spend time with them, doing what, and for how long?' A specific, confident answer suggests genuine individual planning; a vague answer is a concern."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain is rated Good and a named Registered Manager, Mrs Cristina Dragusin, is recorded alongside Nominated Individual Mrs Frances Friday. This indicates a defined leadership structure is in place. No specific findings about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home handles complaints and incidents are documented in the available text. The July 2023 review found no grounds to reassess the rating, suggesting no significant leadership concerns had emerged in the 18 months following inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data places management and leadership at 23.4% of what matters u2014 families want to know someone is in charge who genuinely cares and can be reached when needed. Good Practice research finds that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time: homes where managers change frequently, or where staff feel unable to raise concerns, tend to deteriorate. The fact that a named manager is in post and the rating has held is positive, but you cannot tell from this report how long Mrs Dragusin has been in post, how visible she is day-to-day, or whether staff feel supported to speak up.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review identifies manager tenure and staff empowerment u2014 the ability of frontline staff to raise concerns without fear u2014 as the two leadership factors most predictive of sustained care quality in residential dementia settings.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How long has the current Registered Manager been in post, and how often would I be able to speak to them directly if I had a concern about my parent's care?' A manager who is hard to reach or whose tenure is short deserves further enquiry."}

  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 here supports people over 65 with various needs, including dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They're experienced in adapting care as conditions change over time.. Gaps or open questions remain on Families have found the staff maintain consistent, kind support throughout the dementia journey. The team understands how to adapt their approach as needs evolve, staying attentive through every stage. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.