Redbond Lodge Care Home | Runwood Homes Senior Living

What families say

Families talk about staff who take time to understand each resident as an individual, staying patient and calm even when supporting those with challenging behaviours. Visitors appreciate the unrestricted access and how staff genuinely welcome their input in care decisions.

Based on 11 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth75
• Compassion & dignity75
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2017-10-12 · Report published 2017-10-12 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied that risks were identified and managed, medicines were handled correctly, and staffing levels were sufficient at the time of the visit. Redbond Lodge is an 83-bed home covering dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, which places significant demands on safe staffing at all hours. No specific safety incidents, staffing ratios, or infection control observations are recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating tells you that inspectors did not find serious gaps at the time, but it does not tell you what night staffing looks like now, or how the home has managed occupancy changes since 2021. Good Practice research consistently identifies night shifts as the point where safety most often slips in residential care, particularly in homes of this size with complex needs. Agency staff reliance is a related risk: when your mum or dad is supported by someone who does not know their routines and triggers, the risk of falls and missed deterioration rises. The inspection findings do not cover either of these points, so you will need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios and agency reliance are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in residential dementia care. A Good daytime rating does not automatically guarantee safe overnight staffing levels.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency names on night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of carers on duty overnight is for a home of 83 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, nutrition, and healthcare access, including GP and specialist input. Redbond Lodge lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would expect dementia-specific training to be in place. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, food provision, or GP access is included in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, the quality of care planning and staff training matters enormously to your parent's daily life. Our Good Practice evidence base, drawn from 61 studies, shows that care plans work best when they are treated as living documents updated with input from families, not as paperwork completed at admission and rarely revisited. A Good Effective rating suggests the basics are in place, but the published report gives no detail on how often plans are reviewed or whether families are actively included. Food quality is another area where the inspection is silent. In our family review data, 20.9% of positive reviews mention food specifically, making it one of the clearest signals of whether a home genuinely attends to individual preferences.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia-specific training, when it goes beyond basic awareness to cover communication techniques and non-verbal cues, significantly improves the quality of daily interactions. Ask what the training actually covers, not just how many hours staff receive.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (anonymised if needed) and check whether it records the person's life history, preferred daily routine, and communication preferences, not just their medical needs. Then ask when care plans were last reviewed and whether family members were contacted as part of that review."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well staff know the individuals in their care. A Good Caring rating requires inspectors to observe positive interactions and to hear from residents and relatives that they feel respected and listened to. No specific staff interactions, resident testimony, or observations about preferred names or unhurried care are recorded in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: 57.3% of positive reviews across more than 5,400 UK care homes mention warm, friendly staff by name. Compassionate, dignified care is the second strongest theme at 55.2%. These are not abstract ideals; they show up in specific, observable moments. Does a carer knock before entering a room? Do they use your dad's preferred name rather than a generic term of address? Do they sit at eye level when talking to someone with dementia? The inspection found Good Caring, but without recorded observations you cannot know from the report alone whether these moments are consistently present at Redbond Lodge. A visit, ideally unannounced or at a quieter time such as after lunch, will tell you far more.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review highlights that non-verbal communication, including touch, eye contact, and unhurried body language, is as important as spoken words for people living with dementia, particularly as verbal communication becomes more difficult. These are the signals to look for on a visit.","watch_out":"During your visit, spend time in a communal area and watch how staff pass through. Do they stop to make eye contact and speak to your parent's potential neighbours, or do they move quickly past? Count the number of interactions you see versus the number of times a resident appears to want attention and does not receive it."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether care is tailored to individual needs, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether complaints are handled well. Redbond Lodge supports a wide range of needs including dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, which requires a genuinely individualised approach to daily life and engagement. No specific activities, individual engagement examples, or complaint-handling detail is included in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data mention activities and engagement as a key reason for satisfaction. For people living with dementia in particular, the Good Practice evidence base shows that tailored one-to-one engagement, rather than group activities alone, is strongly associated with reduced distress and better quality of life. Everyday household tasks, familiar music, and sensory activities can all make a real difference. The inspection report does not tell you whether Redbond Lodge offers this kind of individual engagement, or whether activity provision is primarily group-based and available only to those who can participate. This is one of the most important questions to ask on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented individual activities, such as folding, watering plants, and simple cooking, produce measurable improvements in wellbeing for people with moderate to advanced dementia, compared with passive group entertainment alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what happened yesterday for a resident who cannot join group sessions. A good answer will name specific one-to-one activities and the staff member who delivered them. A vague answer about general group programmes is a signal to probe further."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the March 2021 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Racquel Cruz, and a nominated individual, Dr Gavin O'Hare-Connelly, are recorded as responsible for the service. Redbond Lodge is operated by Runwood Homes Limited. A Good Well-led rating requires inspectors to be satisfied that there is a clear management structure, that staff feel supported, and that governance systems identify and address issues. No specific detail about manager visibility, staff culture, or quality monitoring processes is included in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence base. When a registered manager has been in post long enough to know the people who live in the home, the families, and the staff team well, the culture of the home tends to be more consistent and more open to improvement. The inspection records a named manager, which is a positive sign, but it does not tell you how long Mrs Cruz has been in post, or how often the manager is present on the floor rather than in an office. Management quality in our family review data accounts for 23.4% of positive satisfaction signals, and families consistently describe good managers as visible and approachable rather than administrative. The report cannot answer this for you; a visit and a direct conversation with the manager will.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that bottom-up empowerment, where care staff feel confident to raise concerns and suggest improvements, is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than top-down inspection compliance alone. Ask staff, not just managers, how concerns are handled.","watch_out":"Ask to meet the registered manager in person, not a deputy, and ask how long they have been in post at Redbond Lodge specifically. Then ask one of the care staff you encounter on your visit how they would raise a concern if they were worried about a resident. Their answer will tell you more about the culture than any policy document."}

  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 Redbond Lodge supports adults both under and over 65 with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home's courtyard layout was specifically designed to reduce the anxiety that residents with dementia often feel when trying to find their way around. Staff show particular patience with residents whose dementia causes challenging behaviours. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.