Kingsbury House ltd Residential Care home

What families say

Based on 9 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 2018-05-10 · Report published 2018-05-10 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Safe at its last inspection in February 2022, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. This improvement indicates that concerns identified in the earlier inspection were addressed. The home supports 20 people, including those living with dementia, which means consistent staffing and a well-maintained environment matter greatly. No specific detail about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls recording, or infection control practice appears in the published inspection text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, a Good safety rating after a period of Requires Improvement is a positive signal, but it is not the whole picture. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most likely to slip in small homes. With only 20 beds, this home will have a small night team, and you need to know exactly how many people are on duty and whether they are permanent or agency staff. Agency reliance undermines the consistency that people living with dementia depend on. The inspection findings do not answer these questions, so you will need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent care quality, particularly overnight, when supervision is reduced and familiar faces matter most to people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many nights were covered by permanent staff versus agency or bank workers, and ask how many carers are on the dementia unit after 9pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Effective at its February 2022 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, health monitoring, food and nutrition, and access to healthcare professionals. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means inspectors would have considered whether staff training and care approaches were appropriate for people with cognitive impairment. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, GP access arrangements, or food provision appears in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you inspectors were broadly satisfied, but the absence of specific detail makes it hard to judge depth. In our family review data, food quality is mentioned positively in 20.9% of reviews, making it a genuine marker of how much a home cares about the people who live there. Dementia-specific training is equally important: Good Practice evidence shows that staff who understand how dementia affects communication and behaviour provide meaningfully better care. Ask to see the training records for the staff who would care for your parent, and ask when care plans are reviewed and whether families are invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review identified care plans as living documents that should be updated after any significant change in a person's health or behaviour. Homes that review plans reactively rather than routinely are more likely to miss early signs of deterioration.","watch_out":"Ask to see an anonymised example of a care plan and check whether it records the person's preferred name, their life history, and their communication preferences. Then ask how often plans are formally reviewed and whether families are invited to those reviews."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Caring at its February 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. No specific inspector observations about staff interactions, no quotes from people living at the home, and no examples of how privacy or dignity were maintained appear in the published text. The Good rating indicates inspectors did not identify concerns in this area.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned positively in 57.3% of the reviews we analysed across more than 5,000 UK care homes. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. These are not abstract values; they show up in observable moments: whether staff knock before entering a room, whether they use your mum's preferred name, whether they sit at eye level rather than standing over someone. Good Practice evidence tells us that non-verbal communication matters as much as words for people living with dementia. The inspection report cannot show you these moments, so you need to observe them yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual well, including their history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff can describe the person behind the diagnosis consistently score higher on family satisfaction measures.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch what happens in a corridor or communal area when a member of staff passes someone who is sitting alone. Do they stop, make eye contact, and speak? Or do they walk past? That unrehearsed moment tells you more than any brochure."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home received a Good rating for Responsive at its February 2022 inspection. This domain covers activities, engagement, individuality, and end-of-life care. No detail about the activity programme, how activities are tailored for people at different stages of dementia, or how end-of-life preferences are recorded appears in the published text. The Good rating suggests inspectors were satisfied with how the home responded to individual needs.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is one of the themes families mention most in our review data, appearing in 27.1% of positive reviews. For people living with dementia, meaningful occupation, not just organised group activities, is strongly linked to reduced distress and better quality of life. Good Practice research highlights Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks as particularly effective for people who can no longer engage with formal group sessions. In a 20-bed home, there is potential for a more personalised approach than in larger settings, but only if staff have the time and training to deliver it. The inspection does not tell you what actually happens on a Tuesday afternoon, so ask and then observe.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that one-to-one engagement for people at more advanced stages of dementia is consistently associated with reduced agitation and improved wellbeing, but it is also the first thing to disappear when staffing is stretched.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity programme for the last month and check whether it includes individual activities for people who cannot participate in groups. Then, on your visit, arrive at a time when an activity session should be running and see whether it actually is."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Well-led at its February 2022 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A named Registered Manager and a Nominated Individual are identified in the registration record. The improvement across all five domains from the previous inspection suggests the leadership team responded constructively to earlier findings. No specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or how complaints are handled appears in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability predicts quality over time. A manager who has been in post long enough to know every person who lives there, and every member of staff by name, creates a different culture from one who is passing through. The fact that this home improved from Requires Improvement to Good across every domain is a genuine positive signal: it suggests someone is paying attention and acting on what they find. Our family review data shows that communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews, often because it is absent rather than present elsewhere. Ask how long the current manager has been in post and how the home would contact you if something changed with your parent's health.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear consistently deliver better care outcomes. A culture where bottom-up feedback reaches the manager is a stronger predictor of quality than governance paperwork alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in their current role and whether the same person was in post during the previous Requires Improvement period. Ask also what specific changes were made between the two inspections and how the home would let you know if your parent had a fall or a significant change in health."}

  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 specialises in dementia care and supporting people with mental health conditions. They care for both younger adults under 65 and older residents, offering tailored support for different age groups and needs.. Gaps or open questions remain on Kingsbury House provides specialist dementia care as part of their service. The team works with residents who have dementia alongside other mental health conditions, supporting people with complex care needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.