Derwent Lodge Care Home

What families say

Families describe a place where staff across every department work together to support residents. From the person cleaning the floors to the activity organisers planning the day's events, there's a sense that everyone understands their role in making life comfortable for the people who live here.

Based on 8 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 & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-08-12 · Report published 2023-08-12 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the August 2023 inspection, an improvement on the previous Requires Improvement rating. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. The published summary does not include specific observations about night staffing ratios, agency use, or falls management. The improvement itself suggests previous safety concerns were identified and resolved. No concerns are flagged in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Safe is reassuring after a previous Requires Improvement, but the published findings give no detail on what specifically changed. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety problems are most likely to emerge in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency that people with dementia depend on. Because the inspection text does not address either of these points, you need to ask directly. Cleanliness accounts for 24.3% of positive family reviews in our data, suggesting families notice and care about the physical environment as a safety signal, so look carefully when you visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that inconsistent staffing, particularly high agency use and low night-shift ratios, is one of the strongest predictors of safety incidents in dementia care settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count the names on night shifts and ask how many of those are permanent staff versus agency workers covering for 65 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the August 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, GP and healthcare access, and nutrition and hydration. The home specialises in dementia care, so inspectors would have been expected to review dementia-specific training and the quality of individual care plans. No specific detail on any of these areas is included in the published text. There is no mention of care plan review frequency or how families are included in care planning.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Dementia-specific training is one of the areas families in our review data flag most often, appearing in 12.7% of positive reviews as something that made a real difference to their parent's experience. A Good rating in Effective suggests inspectors were satisfied, but without knowing what training staff have completed or how often care plans are updated, it is difficult to know how deeply person-centred the care is. Food quality appears in 20.9% of positive family reviews and is one of the clearest markers of genuine care. Ask to see a week's menu and, if possible, visit at a mealtime to observe the pace and atmosphere.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function best as living documents updated after every significant change in a person's condition or preferences, and that families who are actively included in reviews report significantly higher satisfaction with the care their parent receives.","watch_out":"Ask how often your parent's care plan would be formally reviewed and who would be in the room. Find out whether families are invited to those reviews or simply informed of changes afterwards."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the August 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well the home supports independence. The published text does not include any direct observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they are treated, or specific examples of dignity being upheld. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with what they saw, but the absence of detail makes it difficult to know what that looked like in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is by far the most important theme in our family review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for 55.2%. These are the things families remember most. The inspection confirms the Caring domain met the standard for Good, but the published findings give you nothing concrete to hold on to. When you visit, watch for the things inspectors look for: do staff knock before entering rooms, do they use your parent's preferred name, do they move without hurry? These observable signals tell you more than a rating alone.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people living with dementia. Staff who crouch to eye level, maintain calm body language, and allow time for a response are demonstrating person-centred care in a way that no document can fully capture.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice whether staff introduce themselves to your parent and use their preferred name without being prompted. If you see a moment of distress or confusion in a resident, watch how staff respond: do they stop, make eye contact, and speak calmly, or do they move on quickly?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the August 2023 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors activities and daily life to individual preferences, how it responds to complaints, and how it supports people at the end of life. The home specialises in dementia care for 65 residents, which makes individual responsiveness particularly important. No specific detail on the activity programme, one-to-one engagement, or end-of-life planning is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. Families want to know their parent has a life inside the home, not just a safe place to sleep. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient: people with more advanced dementia need one-to-one engagement and, where possible, involvement in everyday household tasks that give a sense of purpose and continuity. Because the inspection gives no detail on this, it is one of the most important things to ask about and observe directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and activity-based approaches, including involvement in familiar domestic tasks such as folding, sorting, and simple food preparation, significantly improve wellbeing and reduce distress in people living with dementia, particularly those who cannot engage with group activities.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator what happens on a day when your parent does not want to join the group session. Find out whether there is a named person responsible for one-to-one engagement and how many hours per week that amounts to per resident."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the August 2023 inspection, improving from the previous Requires Improvement. The registered manager is named as Mr Vincent Abonado Munieza, with Mr Alan Goldstein listed as the nominated individual. The organisation running the home is Bondcare (London) Limited. Achieving Good in Well-led after a previous Requires Improvement is a positive signal, as it suggests the leadership team has been effective in driving improvement. No detail on management visibility, staff culture, or how the home handles complaints is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership continuity underpins everything else: staff who feel supported speak up more, care plans are reviewed more reliably, and families are kept better informed. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in this domain is encouraging, but it is worth finding out how long the current manager has been in post and whether significant staffing changes have happened recently. Communication with families appears in 11.5% of positive reviews as a specific driver of satisfaction, so ask directly how the home would keep you informed if your parent's health or wellbeing changed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel safe to raise concerns are the two factors most strongly associated with sustained quality improvement in care homes, above and beyond compliance with regulations alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at Derwent Lodge specifically, not at the organisation. Also ask what has changed since the previous Requires Improvement rating and what the home now does differently."}

  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 provides specialist dementia care alongside general support for adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the collaborative approach means residents benefit from staff who understand how every interaction matters — from morning care routines to afternoon activities. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.