Hillcrest 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
• Cleanliness60
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-05-09 · Report published 2018-05-09 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The January 2026 inspection rated this domain Good. No specific findings from the inspection text are available beyond this headline rating. The home is registered for 34 beds and serves people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities u2014 a combination that makes staffing levels and incident management particularly important. No concerns were flagged by inspectors, but no supporting observations are recorded in the published text provided.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating means inspectors did not identify failings in medicines management, safeguarding, or infection control. But for families choosing a dementia care home, the detail behind that rating matters enormously. Good Practice research consistently shows that safety risks u2014 particularly falls and unmet distress u2014 are most likely to occur at night, when staffing is thinnest. With 34 beds and a mixed specialism profile, you need to know exactly how many staff are on site after 8pm. The absence of specific inspection detail here means you cannot rely on the report alone u2014 a visit and direct questioning are essential.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and reliance on unfamiliar agency staff are among the most consistent predictors of safety incidents in care homes, including falls and delayed responses to distress.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how many care staff are physically on site overnight, and what is the procedure if a resident with dementia becomes distressed at 3am u2014 who responds, and how quickly?"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The January 2026 inspection rated Effective as Good. No specific observations about care planning, dementia training, GP access, medication reviews, or food quality are available in the published text. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which should mean staff have specific training and care plans are tailored to cognitive needs. Whether this is the case in practice cannot be verified from the report text provided.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care home means your parent's care plan is a living document that reflects who they are today u2014 not who they were six months ago. It means staff know how to interpret behavioural changes as communication rather than 'challenging behaviour.' DCC family review data shows that 12.7% of families specifically mention dementia-specific care as a positive theme in their reviews, and those homes tend to describe concrete practices: named key workers, life history books, and regular family involvement in care reviews. None of these are confirmed or denied in the available text here, which is why you need to ask.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plan quality u2014 specifically whether plans are genuinely person-centred, regularly reviewed, and co-produced with families u2014 as one of the strongest markers of effective dementia care, more predictive of good outcomes than formal training hours alone.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample (anonymised) care plan, and ask how often your parent's plan would be reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute to that review."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The January 2026 inspection rated Caring as Good. This is the domain families care about most u2014 DCC review data shows staff warmth (57.3%) and compassion and dignity (55.2%) are the two highest-weighted themes in what families value. No direct observations, quotes, or specific incidents illustrating kind or undignified care appear in the published inspection text provided. The Good rating indicates inspectors found no concerns, but the absence of specifics means the quality of warmth and interaction cannot be verified from this report alone.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Kindness in a care home is not just about good intentions u2014 it is about whether staff know your parent as a person: their preferred name, their life history, what makes them smile, and what frightens them. Good Practice research shows that non-verbal communication becomes the primary channel for people with advanced dementia, and staff who are trained to read and respond to that communicate respect even when words are difficult. You cannot assess this from an inspection report u2014 you can only assess it by visiting at different times of day, watching how staff walk past someone in a corridor, and noticing whether your parent is addressed by name.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that person-centred care u2014 grounded in detailed knowledge of an individual's life history, preferences, and communication style u2014 is consistently associated with reduced agitation, greater wellbeing, and lower use of sedating medication in people with dementia.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff greet your parent during any introductions u2014 do they crouch to eye level, use your parent's preferred name, and take their time, or do they speak over them to you?"}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The January 2026 inspection rated Responsive as Good. No specific findings about activities, individual engagement, end-of-life care, or responsiveness to changing needs are available in the published text. The home supports people with a wide range of conditions including dementia and sensory impairment, which means a genuinely responsive service needs to offer more than group activities u2014 it needs structured one-to-one engagement for people who cannot participate in group settings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Responsiveness is the domain that answers the question: will my parent have a life here, or will they sit in a chair and watch television? DCC family review data shows activities and engagement (21.4%) and resident happiness (27.1%) are strongly linked in positive family accounts. Good Practice research highlights that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household task participation u2014 folding laundry, watering plants, sorting objects u2014 provide meaningful engagement for people with dementia who can no longer follow structured activities. Ask specifically what happens for your parent if they reach a stage where group activities are no longer suitable.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research rapid evidence review found that one-to-one engagement and sensory-based activities for people with advanced dementia significantly reduce episodes of distress and withdrawal, and that homes which only provide group activities systematically exclude the most vulnerable residents.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: if my parent reaches a point where they cannot join group sessions, what would a typical Tuesday afternoon look like for them u2014 who would spend time with them, doing what, and for how long?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The January 2026 inspection rated Well-led as Good. Mrs Helen Emerson is named as Nominated Individual for the provider Sirtin Limited. No specific observations about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or learning from incidents are available in the published text. A Well-led Good rating indicates inspectors found the management structures adequate, but without detail it is not possible to assess leadership stability or how staff feel empowered to raise concerns.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good leadership in a care home is not just paperwork u2014 it is whether the manager is known to residents by name, whether staff feel safe to raise concerns without fear, and whether the home improves after incidents rather than simply recording them. DCC family review data shows communication with families (11.5%) is a consistent theme in positive reviews, and families frequently describe being kept informed as a sign of a well-run home. Good Practice research links leadership stability u2014 how long the manager has been in post u2014 directly to the quality trajectory of a home. Ask how long the current manager has been in role.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review identified leadership stability as one of the most reliable predictors of sustained quality: homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years show consistently better outcomes across all domains compared to homes with frequent management changes.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post, and ask what the home did differently after its most recent recorded incident or complaint u2014 a good leader will answer this with specifics, not generalities."}

  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 welcomes people with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, Hillcrest provides specialist support as part of their wider care approach. The home's experience with different conditions means they understand the unique challenges dementia can bring. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.