Barchester – Meadowbeck Care Home
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 beds60
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities
- Last inspected2020-09-16
- Activities programmeThe home feels fresh and well-maintained, with pleasant outdoor spaces where residents can enjoy quieter moments. Cleanliness is clearly a priority throughout. The variety of activities — from daily programmes to evening entertainment — creates a rhythm to life here that many residents seem to enjoy.
- 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
What strikes visitors is how staff treat everyone with authentic respect, especially during vulnerable moments. The activities programme stands out too — there's something happening most days and evenings, with staff working hard to include residents of all abilities. Families mention feeling part of daily life here, welcomed for visits and included in social events.
Based on 40 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth70
- Compassion & dignity72
- Cleanliness70
- Activities & engagement65
- Food quality60
- Healthcare55
- Management & leadership72
- Resident happiness68
What inspectors found
Inspected 2020-09-16 · Report published 2020-09-16 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the July 2020 inspection, an improvement on the previous rating. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home keeps people protected from harm. The published summary does not record specific staffing ratios, falls data, or infection control observations, so the Good rating reflects inspectors being satisfied overall without detailed figures being available in the summary. The inspection is now over four years old, which means the safety picture may have changed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety will offer some reassurance, but the lack of specific detail in the published summary means you cannot rely on this alone. Night staffing is where safety most commonly slips in care homes according to the Good Practice evidence base, and no night ratios are recorded here. In our family review data, staff attentiveness accounts for 14% of positive reviews, which tells you that families notice and value consistent, present staff. For a home with 60 beds caring for people with dementia and physical disabilities, ask specifically how many staff are on the dementia unit overnight and whether that number has changed since 2020.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are consistently where safety deteriorates first in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency that people with dementia depend on. Neither of these factors is addressed in the available published findings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not the approved template. Count how many permanent staff names appear on the night shifts for the dementia unit versus agency names."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The Effective domain was rated Requires Improvement at the July 2020 inspection. This is the only domain that did not reach a Good rating and covers training, care planning, healthcare access, nutritional support, and how well the home translates knowledge into practice for each individual. The published summary does not detail what specifically fell short, which makes it difficult to know how serious the gaps were or whether they have since been addressed. A monitoring review took place in July 2023 and found no need to reassess the rating, suggesting no major deterioration, though that is not the same as confirming the Effective issues have been resolved.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"This is the domain that should give you most pause. Requires Improvement in Effective means that when inspectors visited, the home was not fully meeting standards in at least one area covering how well staff understood and responded to individual needs. For a home specialising in dementia care, gaps in training or care planning carry real consequences for your parent's day-to-day experience. Our family review data shows that 12.7% of positive reviews specifically mention dementia-specific care, which reflects how acutely families notice whether staff truly understand the condition. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans need to function as living documents, updated regularly and shaped by the person and their family, not just filed away.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that dementia-specific training content, covering non-verbal communication, understanding behaviour as communication, and person-centred approaches, is one of the strongest predictors of care quality. Homes where staff training is generic rather than dementia-focused consistently score lower on resident wellbeing measures.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you a current care plan for a resident with dementia (anonymised if needed) and ask when it was last reviewed and whether the family was involved in that review. Then ask what dementia-specific training all care staff have completed in the past 12 months."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the July 2020 inspection. This domain covers whether staff treat the people who live here with warmth, respect, and genuine attention, and whether privacy and independence are upheld in daily life. The published summary does not record specific inspector observations or resident and family quotes, so the Good rating reflects an overall positive finding without the supporting detail being available. The improvement from the previous Requires Improvement overall rating suggests the caring culture has strengthened.","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 together account for a further 55.2%. A Good rating in Caring is therefore a meaningful signal, even without the supporting detail from this inspection. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that for people with dementia, non-verbal communication matters as much as words: whether staff make eye contact, move without hurry, and respond to distress with calm rather than efficiency. On your visit, these are the things to look for in the corridors and at mealtimes, not just in a formal meeting with the manager.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual: their history, preferences, and what distress looks like for them specifically. Homes rated Good for Caring where staff can describe individual residents in personal rather than clinical terms consistently show better resident wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"When you visit, notice whether staff address your parent by their preferred name and whether they crouch to eye level during conversation. Ask a carer directly: what do you know about this person's life before they came here?"}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the July 2020 inspection. This domain covers whether the home tailors its provision to the individual: activities, engagement, end-of-life planning, complaints handling, and whether people who are less able to participate in group activities still receive meaningful one-to-one time. The published summary does not record specific activity examples, engagement observations, or details about end-of-life planning, so the Good rating reflects an overall positive finding without supporting specifics.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness accounts for a further 27.1%. A Good rating here is encouraging for a home caring for people with dementia and physical disabilities, but the lack of detail means you cannot assess from the report alone whether engagement is genuinely individualised or largely group-based. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that for people with advanced dementia, one-to-one activity rooted in familiar, meaningful tasks, such as folding, gardening, or music from their era, is more beneficial than group sessions alone. Ask specifically what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or choose not to join a group.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that Montessori-based and task-based individual engagement approaches consistently produce better outcomes for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group activity programmes alone. Everyday household tasks used as purposeful engagement support identity, continuity, and calm.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what a typical Tuesday looks like for someone with advanced dementia who cannot join a group session. Ask whether one-to-one time is scheduled on rotas or left to staff discretion."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the July 2020 inspection, having previously been part of a Requires Improvement overall rating. The registered manager at the time of inspection was Ms Annaliza Castro Kemp, and the nominated individual was Mr Dominic Jude Kay. The home is operated by Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited. A Good rating here indicates that inspectors found governance systems, quality monitoring, and a positive staff culture to be functioning. Manager tenure and stability are not confirmed in the available summary, and it is not known whether the same manager is in post now.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality accounts for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and communication with families accounts for a further 11.5%. A Good rating for Well-led at a home that has improved from Requires Improvement is a meaningful sign of positive direction. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality: homes where managers stay in post and are known to staff and residents by name consistently perform better over time. However, the inspection is now four years old, and you should confirm on your visit whether the same manager is still in post and how long the current leadership team has been in place.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that leadership stability, meaning manager continuity and staff empowerment to raise concerns, is the single strongest organisational predictor of care quality trajectory. Homes with high management turnover show measurable declines in resident experience even when other inputs remain stable.","watch_out":"Ask directly: is Ms Castro Kemp still the registered manager, and if not, how long has the current manager been in post? Then ask: how do you let families know if something goes wrong with their parent's care?"}
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 Meadowbeck provides residential care for adults over 65, as well as younger adults who need support. They have experience caring for people with dementia and physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team works to maintain dignity and connection even as needs change. Staff seem to understand the importance of attempting engagement and maintaining respect, adapting their approach to each person's current abilities. — 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
Meadowbeck scores 72 out of 100, reflecting a home that has improved from Requires Improvement to Good overall, with genuine strengths in care and leadership, but with one domain (Effective) still rated Requires Improvement, meaning training, care planning, and healthcare processes need further scrutiny before you feel fully confident.
Homes in Yorkshire & Humberside typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
What strikes visitors is how staff treat everyone with authentic respect, especially during vulnerable moments. The activities programme stands out too — there's something happening most days and evenings, with staff working hard to include residents of all abilities. Families mention feeling part of daily life here, welcomed for visits and included in social events.
What inspectors have recorded
Staff come across as approachable and personally invested in residents' wellbeing. They keep families in the loop about their loved ones, and there's a sense that communication flows easily both ways. The care team seems particularly skilled at supporting families through difficult times, offering both practical help and emotional understanding when it's needed most.
How it sits against good practice
If you're weighing up options for someone you love, visiting Meadowbeck could help you get a feel for whether this caring approach fits what you're looking for.
Worth a visit
Meadowbeck, at 1 Meadowbeck Close in York, was rated Good overall at its last inspection in July 2020, an improvement on its previous Requires Improvement rating. Inspectors found the home to be Good in four of the five domains: Safe, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led. The registered manager at the time was Ms Annaliza Castro Kemp, and the home is run by Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited, a large national provider. The one area of concern is the Effective domain, which remained at Requires Improvement. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and how well the home understands and meets each person's individual needs. That rating, combined with the fact that this inspection is now over four years old and the most recent monitoring review was in July 2023, means you should ask directly what has changed since 2020. On any visit, ask to see a current care plan, ask how often it is reviewed, and check whether staff have completed up-to-date dementia training.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
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In Their Own Words
How Barchester – Meadowbeck Care Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where kindness meets every resident with genuine warmth and dignity
Nursing home in York: True Peace of Mind
Families searching for compassionate care in York often discover something special at Meadowbeck. The warmth here goes deeper than friendly greetings — it's woven into how staff approach each resident, whether they're joining in activities or needing quiet companionship. People describe feeling genuinely welcomed from their first visit, finding reassurance in the clean, well-kept spaces and the easy smiles of residents who've made this their home.
Who they care for
Meadowbeck provides residential care for adults over 65, as well as younger adults who need support. They have experience caring for people with dementia and physical disabilities.
For residents living with dementia, the team works to maintain dignity and connection even as needs change. Staff seem to understand the importance of attempting engagement and maintaining respect, adapting their approach to each person's current abilities.
Management & ethos
Staff come across as approachable and personally invested in residents' wellbeing. They keep families in the loop about their loved ones, and there's a sense that communication flows easily both ways. The care team seems particularly skilled at supporting families through difficult times, offering both practical help and emotional understanding when it's needed most.
The home & environment
The home feels fresh and well-maintained, with pleasant outdoor spaces where residents can enjoy quieter moments. Cleanliness is clearly a priority throughout. The variety of activities — from daily programmes to evening entertainment — creates a rhythm to life here that many residents seem to enjoy.
“If you're weighing up options for someone you love, visiting Meadowbeck could help you get a feel for whether this caring approach fits what you're looking for.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
