Elmbank
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 beds35
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Dementia, Learning disabilities, Physical disabilities
- Last inspected2019-01-03
- 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 seeing their relatives looking well cared for — cleaner, better dressed, and more settled than before moving in. Staff take time to understand each person's individual needs and preferences, whether that's arranging community visits or helping someone make an anniversary phone call.
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
- Cleanliness70
- Activities & engagement65
- Food quality65
- Healthcare70
- Management & leadership70
- Resident happiness68
What inspectors found
Inspected 2019-01-03 · Report published 2019-01-03 · Inspected 1 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"Elmbank Care Home was rated Good for Safe at its November 2018 inspection. This rating covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. No specific detail from the inspection is available in the published summary beyond the domain rating itself. The last published review of information, carried out in July 2023, found no evidence to prompt a reassessment of that rating.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safe is reassuring as a baseline, but the inspection evidence behind it is now more than six years old. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point at which safety most commonly slips in care homes, yet no night staffing numbers are recorded in the available findings. If your parent has dementia and moves around at night or is at risk of falls, you need current numbers, not a 2018 rating. Ask the home directly how many staff are on duty after 10pm and how many of those are permanent rather than agency.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most reliable early indicators of deteriorating safety in a care home, because consistent relationships between staff and residents are central to safe, responsive care for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency staff on night shifts specifically, and ask what the minimum staffing level is if someone calls in sick at short notice."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"Elmbank Care Home was rated Good for Effective at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers staff training and competence, care planning, nutrition and hydration, healthcare access including GP involvement, and how well the home uses assessments to guide care. No specific findings are recorded in the published summary. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies a commitment to relevant training, but no detail about training content or frequency is available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, the Effective domain matters more than average. Good Practice evidence is clear that dementia training needs to be specific, not generic, and needs regular refreshing as practice evolves. A Good rating from 2018 tells you the home met the standard at that time. It does not tell you whether training has kept pace since, whether care plans are reviewed regularly, or whether GP access is prompt when your parent's condition changes. These are the questions to press on when you visit.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that care plans function best as genuinely living documents, updated after every significant change in a person's condition or preferences, rather than completed at admission and filed away. Homes that treat care plans as active tools tend to deliver more consistent, personalised care.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (with personal details removed) and ask when it was last updated and by whom. Ask whether families are invited to contribute to care plan reviews, and how often those reviews happen for someone with advancing dementia."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"Elmbank Care Home was rated Good for Caring at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity and respect, and how well staff support residents to maintain independence and make choices. No specific inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative testimony are available in the published summary. Staff warmth and compassion are the dimensions families care most about, making the absence of specific recorded detail a genuine gap.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity follow close behind at 55.2%. When inspectors find genuine warmth, they tend to record it specifically: noting that staff used preferred names, moved without hurry, and responded to distress calmly. The absence of such detail in the published summary does not mean it was absent in 2018, but it does mean you cannot rely on the written record here. The caring quality of a home is best assessed in person, by watching how staff interact with your parent during your visit.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal communication for people living with dementia. Staff who crouch to eye level, maintain calm body language, and do not rush interactions produce measurably better outcomes in terms of distress and agitation.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal areas when they think no one is particularly observing. Do they make eye contact? Do they use the person's preferred name? Are interactions unhurried? These moments are more revealing than anything that happens in a formal show-round."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"Elmbank Care Home was rated Good for Responsive at its November 2018 inspection. This domain covers whether the home provides activities and engagement that are tailored to individuals, whether it responds to complaints, and whether end-of-life care is planned and compassionate. No specific findings about the activities programme, individual engagement, or end-of-life practice are available in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and meaningful engagement matter significantly to families: 27.1% of positive reviews in our data mention resident happiness and contentment, and 21.4% mention activities specifically. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with advanced dementia, who need one-to-one engagement tailored to their personal history and current abilities. A Good rating from 2018 tells you the home met that standard then. Ask what the activities programme looks like now, and specifically what happens for a resident who cannot or does not want to join a group.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found strong evidence for Montessori-based and occupation-based approaches, including familiar household tasks, as effective ways to reduce agitation and support a sense of purpose for people living with dementia. These approaches require staff time and training, not just a weekly schedule on the noticeboard.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (or, if there is no dedicated coordinator, the manager) what happens on a day when the scheduled group activity is not suitable for your parent. Ask for a specific example of a one-to-one activity that has been arranged for a resident who prefers not to join groups."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"Elmbank Care Home was rated Good for Well-led at its November 2018 inspection. The registered manager at the time of inspection was Ms Susan Margaret Erwin, with Mr Huw James recorded as the nominated individual. This domain covers whether leadership is visible and supportive, whether the home has effective governance, and whether staff feel able to raise concerns. No detail about management culture, staff feedback mechanisms, or governance processes is available beyond the rating and the named individuals.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home. A manager who has been in post for years, who knows residents and families by name, and who staff feel comfortable approaching, produces better outcomes than one who is new or frequently absent. The 2018 rating tells you leadership was sound at that point. Whether the same manager is still in post, and whether the culture has remained stable, is something only a direct conversation with the home can answer. Management quality drives 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear, and where managers respond to those concerns visibly, have significantly better safety records and higher family satisfaction than homes where culture flows only top-down.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post and whether the leadership team has changed significantly since 2018. Then ask the same question of a care worker you encounter independently during your visit. Consistency between those two answers is a positive sign."}
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 support for people living with dementia, learning disabilities and physical disabilities, caring for adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the team focuses on maintaining each person's sense of identity and independence. Families note how staff adapt their approach to match individual needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all routine. — 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
Elmbank Care Home was rated Good across all five inspection domains, which is a positive baseline. However, the inspection took place in November 2018, making the findings over six years old, so the score reflects that positive rating with significant uncertainty about current practice.
Homes in East Midlands typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
Families describe seeing their relatives looking well cared for — cleaner, better dressed, and more settled than before moving in. Staff take time to understand each person's individual needs and preferences, whether that's arranging community visits or helping someone make an anniversary phone call.
What inspectors have recorded
What stands out is how the team keeps families informed and involved. Regular updates, honest conversations about care decisions, and genuine inclusion in planning all help families feel connected to their loved one's daily life. Even during pandemic restrictions, communication remained a priority.
How it sits against good practice
With some families choosing Elmbank for nearly a decade of care, there's clearly something special about the relationships built here.
Worth a visit
Elmbank Care Home, at 35 Robinson Road, Nottingham, was rated Good across all five inspection domains at its last inspection in November 2018. That is the strongest possible routine rating and, at the time, indicated a home where people were safe, staff were considered effective and caring, and leadership was judged to be functioning well. The home specialises in dementia, nursing care, and support for people with learning and physical disabilities, covering a broad range of needs across its 35 beds. The single most important thing to know before visiting is that this inspection is now over six years old. A great deal can change in that time: managers move on, staffing teams change, and the physical environment evolves. The inspection findings from 2018 are a starting point, not a current guarantee. When you visit, ask to speak to the current registered manager about what has changed since 2018, request to see the most recent staff training records, and ask specifically about night staffing ratios on the dementia unit.
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In Their Own Words
How Elmbank describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where families find years of consistent, personal care
Dedicated nursing home Support in Nottingham
When families talk about Elmbank Care Home in Nottingham, they often mention how staff remember the little things that matter. Some have watched their loved ones receive care here for eight years or more, seeing the same familiar faces providing support through changing needs. This continuity brings its own kind of comfort during difficult times.
Who they care for
The home provides specialist support for people living with dementia, learning disabilities and physical disabilities, caring for adults over 65.
For those living with dementia, the team focuses on maintaining each person's sense of identity and independence. Families note how staff adapt their approach to match individual needs rather than following a one-size-fits-all routine.
Management & ethos
What stands out is how the team keeps families informed and involved. Regular updates, honest conversations about care decisions, and genuine inclusion in planning all help families feel connected to their loved one's daily life. Even during pandemic restrictions, communication remained a priority.
“With some families choosing Elmbank for nearly a decade of care, there's clearly something special about the relationships built here.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
