Holy Cross Residential Home

What families say

Families who've spent time here often mention the caring nature of individual staff members. The atmosphere can feel friendly and welcoming, with team members who seem to genuinely connect with residents.

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-01 · Report published 2019-01-01 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This followed a previous Requires Improvement rating, suggesting that risks identified earlier had been addressed. The published inspection text does not provide specific observations about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls recording, or infection control practices. The home has a registered manager in post, which is a basic safety governance requirement.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety after a Requires Improvement period is reassuring, but it does not answer the questions that matter most to families. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes, and agency reliance is linked to reduced consistency of care. With 57 beds, you should know exactly how many permanent staff are on overnight. The inspection findings available here do not cover this, so you will need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice in Dementia Care evidence base (IFF Research, Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as two of the most significant predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not a template. Count how many permanent carers versus agency workers covered each night shift, and confirm whether a senior member of staff was present throughout."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and food quality. No specific observations about dementia training content, care plan detail, GP access arrangements, or mealtime practice are available from the published inspection text. The home lists dementia as a specialism, so inspectors would have considered dementia-specific practice as part of this assessment.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia home is largely invisible until something goes wrong. Good Practice research shows that care plans treated as living documents, updated with family input after every meaningful change, are one of the strongest markers of genuinely person-centred care. The inspection confirms Good in this domain, but the evidence available here is too general to tell you whether your parent's care plan would reflect their actual history and preferences. Healthcare access, covering how quickly a GP is called and how medicines are reviewed, is also not detailed in the available findings.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that regular, structured dementia training for all care staff, including carers, not just senior staff, significantly improves the quality of day-to-day interactions and reduces incidents of distress.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what specific dementia training every carer has completed in the past 12 months, including the content and duration. A one-hour awareness session is very different from structured, ongoing training in dementia communication and behaviour."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This domain assesses whether staff are kind, whether dignity and privacy are respected, and whether residents retain independence. No direct inspector observations, resident testimony, or relative feedback are available from the published inspection text to illustrate how this rating was reached.","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 named in 55.2%. These are the things families notice most and worry about most. A Good rating here is meaningful, but without specific observations it is difficult to say whether inspectors saw staff sitting with residents, using preferred names, or responding calmly to distress. These are things you can observe yourself. Watch how staff speak to your parent during a visit, particularly when they think no one is paying attention.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication, including tone, pace, eye contact, and physical proximity, matters as much as spoken language for people with advanced dementia, and is a reliable indicator of a genuinely caring culture.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch a staff member interact with a resident who is not a visitor's parent. Notice whether they make eye contact, use the person's name, and move without rushing. This tells you more than any policy document."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection. This covers whether the home responds to individual needs, provides meaningful activities, and plans for end of life. No specific detail about the activity programme, individual engagement for people with advanced dementia, or end-of-life planning is available from the published inspection text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are named in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness is cited in 27.1%. Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with dementia, particularly those with advanced needs who cannot participate in group sessions. A planned activity board in the hallway is not evidence that your dad had something meaningful to do this afternoon. You need to ask specifically about one-to-one engagement and see an actual log of what happened, not what was planned.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that individually tailored activities, including familiar household tasks and sensory engagement, produce significantly better outcomes for people with dementia than group-only activity programmes.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you the log of individual engagement from the past two weeks, covering residents who cannot join group sessions. Ask how many hours of one-to-one time each person with advanced dementia receives each week."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the December 2020 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A registered manager is named in the inspection record. No specific detail about the manager's visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home improved following the previous rating is available from the published inspection text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in care homes, according to Good Practice research. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good is a meaningful signal that leadership identified and addressed problems. However, communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews, and you deserve to know concretely how the home keeps you informed when your parent's condition changes. Ask the manager directly what changed between the two inspections and what evidence they have that those changes have held.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear are the two most reliable predictors of sustained quality in residential dementia care settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post, what the main issues were in the previous Requires Improvement inspection, and what specific changes were made. A manager who can answer clearly and specifically is a good sign; vague reassurance is not."}

  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 focuses on dementia care and supporting adults over 65. It's worth having a detailed conversation about your loved one's specific needs to ensure they can provide the right level of support.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the home aims to provide specialised care. However, if your loved one has particularly complex needs alongside their dementia, it's especially important to discuss whether the home has the right skills and staffing levels in place. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.