Elmfield House Care Home – CQC rated “GOOD”

What families say

Visitors often comment on how content and engaged residents seem here. There's a full calendar of activities — from morning quizzes to afternoon singalongs — and people clearly enjoy taking part. What stands out is how residents stay connected to ordinary life through regular trips to local pubs, shops and community events.

Based on 37 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership74
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-04-03 · Report published 2019-04-03 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. This suggests inspectors were satisfied that medicines were managed appropriately, staffing was adequate, and safeguarding processes were in place. However, the published summary does not record specific staffing numbers, night-time ratios, or detail about how the home manages falls or incidents. The improvement from Requires Improvement is encouraging, but without specific evidence it is not possible to say precisely what changed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home supporting people with dementia, the Safe rating matters enormously. Our Good Practice evidence base highlights that safety tends to slip at night, when staffing is thinner and oversight is lower, so it is important to ask specifically about night staffing levels rather than accepting a general reassurance. The improvement from Requires Improvement tells you the home identified and addressed problems, which is a positive signal about accountability. However, because this inspection is now over six years old, you should ask the manager directly what has changed since 2019 and whether there have been any significant incidents or staffing changes.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of safety risk in care homes, because unfamiliar staff cannot recognise subtle changes in a person with dementia. Ask how many permanent staff are on the rota, especially at night.","watch_out":"Ask to see last week's actual staffing rota, not a template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency workers on night shifts, and ask what the home's policy is when a permanent carer calls in sick."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good, covering care planning, training, healthcare access, and nutrition. The home is registered as a specialist dementia provider, which means inspectors would have looked at whether staff understood dementia-specific care. No detail about the content of dementia training, how often care plans are reviewed, or how GP access is arranged is included in the published summary. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but families will need to ask for specifics directly.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Food quality is one of the eight themes families mention most in our review data, appearing in 20.9% of positive reviews, and it is often one of the clearest visible markers of whether a home genuinely knows your parent as an individual. The inspection does not record anything about food at Elmfield House, so this is something to observe directly on a visit: ask to see the weekly menu, check whether there are choices at each meal, and ask how the home would respond if your parent stopped eating well. On care plans, Good Practice research is clear that a care plan should be a living document updated with family input, not a form completed on admission and filed away.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that regular, structured GP involvement and clear escalation pathways for health changes are strongly associated with better outcomes for people with dementia. Ask the home how they would contact you and what they would do if your parent's health changed overnight.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example care plan (anonymised if needed) and check when it was last reviewed and whether a family member was involved in that review. Then ask how often reviews happen as a matter of routine."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied with how staff treated residents at the time of the January 2019 inspection. In a dementia-specialist home, the Caring domain covers how staff communicate with residents who may not be able to express their preferences verbally, how dignity is maintained during personal care, and whether staff know residents as individuals. None of these specifics are recorded in the published summary. There are no resident or relative quotes available from this inspection.","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 are mentioned in 55.2%. These are not things you can confirm from an inspection report alone, particularly one with limited detail. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication matters as much as words: whether a carer takes time to make eye contact, uses a calm tone, and does not hurry through personal care tasks. These things are observable on a visit if you know what to look for.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that person-led care, where staff know each resident's history, preferences, and communication style, produces measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people living with dementia than task-focused approaches. A simple test is to ask a member of staff to tell you something specific about your parent's life history as if they were describing a person they know.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how staff greet your parent when they first meet them. Do they make eye contact, crouch to the same level, and use a calm unhurried tone? Do other residents appear settled or do they seem distressed and unattended? These corridor moments tell you more than a conversation with the manager."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good, which covers activities, individualised care, and responsiveness to changing needs including end-of-life care. For a small 18-bed home, meaningful individual engagement matters more than a busy group activities calendar, because not everyone living with dementia can participate in group settings. The published summary does not record any detail about the activities programme, one-to-one engagement, or end-of-life planning at Elmfield House.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities are mentioned in 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness in 27.1%. However, our Good Practice evidence base cautions that a rota of group activities can look impressive on paper while failing the people who most need engagement: those with advanced dementia who cannot join in. For a small specialist home like Elmfield House, the key question is what happens for your parent on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon if they cannot or do not want to join a group. Ask specifically about one-to-one time and how staff fill unstructured hours.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks, such as folding laundry, sorting items, and simple cooking activities, produce better engagement and reduced distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia than structured group programmes. Ask whether staff are trained in these approaches.","watch_out":"Ask the home to show you the activities schedule for the past two weeks, not a template. Then ask what was available for a resident who could not join any of the group sessions. If the answer is vague, that tells you something important."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good, and the inspection identifies a named Registered Manager (Miss Nicola Rachel Gillett) alongside a Nominated Individual, indicating a defined leadership structure. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains suggests the management team identified and acted on previous shortfalls. No detail about the manager's tenure, how staff are supported, or how the home handles complaints is recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality in care homes, and it matters particularly in a small specialist setting like this one. Our Good Practice evidence base found that leadership continuity and a culture where staff can speak up are associated with better outcomes for residents. The improvement from Requires Improvement is a positive signal, but the inspection is now over six years old. You should ask whether the same manager is still in post and, if there have been changes, how long the current manager has been in place. A home that has retained its manager and senior team since a Good rating was achieved is on stronger ground than one that has seen significant turnover.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that bottom-up empowerment, where frontline staff feel confident raising concerns and see action taken, is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than top-down governance processes alone. Ask staff, not just the manager, whether they feel listened to.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post, have there been significant staffing changes in the last 12 months, and can you tell me about the last complaint the home received and what happened as a result? The willingness and specificity of the answer tells you as much as the content."}

  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 Elmfield House supports people over 65 with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. The smaller setting allows staff to provide more individualised support across these different care needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the familiar faces and consistent routines in this smaller home can be particularly reassuring. Staff understand how to support people through confusion or anxiety, and the regular activities help maintain social connections. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.