Richmond Heights Care Home

What families say

Families describe finding real warmth here, particularly from individual carers and nurses who take time to chat and connect. The staff create a welcoming atmosphere where visitors feel comfortable spending precious time with their loved ones.

Based on 27 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-12-16 · Report published 2022-12-16 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2024 inspection. This suggests inspectors did not find significant concerns about staffing levels, medicines management, or infection control at the time of their visit. The home is registered to care for 51 people across a range of needs including dementia and physical disabilities. No specific observations, staffing numbers, or medicines review details are recorded in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is a meaningful baseline, but the published findings do not tell you whether the home runs low on staff at night or how often agency workers cover shifts. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most likely to slip, particularly in homes supporting people with dementia who may be unsettled or at risk of falls after dark. For a 51-bed nursing home with this mix of needs, knowing the actual night staffing ratio matters. The inspection rating is encouraging, but ask for the specifics rather than taking a Good label as the whole answer.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (2026) found that agency staff reliance undermines care consistency, and that learning from incidents is one of the clearest markers separating good-practice homes from those that only appear safe on paper.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and ask specifically what the minimum staffing level is on the dementia unit after 10pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the September 2024 inspection. This domain covers how well staff understand and meet your parent's care needs, including training, care planning, GP and healthcare access, and nutrition. No specific examples of care plan content, training records, or food quality observations are recorded in the published report text. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which implies some structured approach to dementia care, but the inspection report does not describe this in detail.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating suggests that when inspectors looked at care plans, training records, and healthcare links, they did not find the kinds of gaps that would lead to a Requires Improvement judgment. However, the Good Practice evidence base (61 studies, March 2026) is clear that care plans only benefit your parent if they are living documents, reviewed regularly and co-produced with families. The inspection does not confirm whether relatives at Richmond Heights are involved in reviews or how often plans are updated. Food quality is one of the clearest signals families cite (it appears in 20.9% of positive reviews), and it is not described here at all, so this is worth observing directly on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia training which goes beyond basic awareness, focusing instead on communication, non-verbal cues, and behaviour as a form of expression, is associated with meaningfully better outcomes for people living with dementia in care settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months, specifically whether it covers responding to distress and communicating with people who have limited verbal communication. Ask to see a sample care plan to check whether it includes the person's life history, preferences, and a named family contact for review meetings."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the September 2024 inspection. This is the domain most closely linked to what families describe as the feel of a home: whether staff are kind, whether your parent is treated with dignity, and whether they still have a sense of independence and selfhood. No direct observations, quotes from residents or relatives, or specific examples of caring interactions are recorded in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important factor in family satisfaction with care homes, appearing in 57.3% of positive reviews in our data, and compassion and dignity appear in 55.2%. A Good Caring rating tells you inspectors were satisfied, but the absence of specific recorded observations means you cannot know from the report alone what warmth looks like day to day at Richmond Heights. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that for people with dementia, non-verbal communication, tone of voice, a familiar face, and being addressed by the name the person prefers, matters as much as any formal care process. This is something you can directly observe on a visit.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care, where staff know and respond to an individual's history, preferences, and communication style, is associated with reduced distress and better wellbeing in people living with dementia, including those in advanced stages.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal areas when they think no one is paying attention. Notice whether they use preferred names, whether they crouch to eye level to speak to someone in a wheelchair, and whether interactions feel genuinely unhurried or transactional."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the September 2024 inspection. This domain covers whether the home treats your parent as an individual with their own history, preferences, and interests, and whether there are activities and opportunities for engagement that suit different abilities and needs. The home cares for people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, meaning activity provision needs to be genuinely varied and individually tailored. No specific activities, examples of one-to-one engagement, or resident feedback about daily life are recorded in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness in 27.1%. A Good Responsive rating is encouraging, but the Good Practice evidence base is explicit that group activities alone are not sufficient: people with advanced dementia or those who find group settings difficult need one-to-one engagement, including familiar household tasks, reminiscence, music, or simply companionable quiet time with a staff member. The inspection does not confirm whether Richmond Heights provides this. For a home supporting people with complex needs across this range of conditions, individual engagement is not a nice-to-have; it is the thing that makes daily life bearable.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and the use of familiar everyday tasks, such as folding, sorting, and gardening, are associated with reduced agitation and increased purposeful engagement in people living with dementia, even in advanced stages.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what they do for a resident who cannot join group sessions, perhaps because of advanced dementia, anxiety, or a physical condition. Ask to see the activity records for one resident over the last month, not just the group activity calendar on the wall."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the September 2024 inspection. The home has a named registered manager, Mrs Jayne Elizabeth Humphrey, and a nominated individual, Mr Naimat Khan, both recorded with the regulator. This Good rating, achieved after a previous Requires Improvement, suggests the leadership has addressed earlier concerns. No information about the manager's tenure, how staff are supported, or how the home handles complaints and incidents is provided in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the clearest predictors of care quality over time. The Good Practice evidence review found that homes with a stable, visible manager who empowers staff to raise concerns tend to sustain good care even under pressure, such as high occupancy or difficult staffing periods. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is a positive signal, but it is worth asking how long the current manager has been in post and whether the team around her is also stable. Communication with families appears in 11.5% of positive reviews, and it is entirely unaddressed in the published findings here, so asking directly how the home keeps you informed is essential.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that leadership stability, defined as a consistent registered manager who is known to staff and residents by name and visible on the floor, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained care quality in residential and nursing settings.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long she has been in post, whether the same senior care staff were in place during the previous Requires Improvement period, and what specifically changed to achieve the Good rating. Ask how you will be contacted if your parent's health or behaviour changes, and how quickly you can expect a call."}

  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 Richmond Heights cares for younger adults under 65 as well as older residents, supporting people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home accepts residents with varying stages of dementia alongside those with mental health conditions, creating an environment that understands complex cognitive needs. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.