Roebuck Nursing Home

What families say

Relatives talk about finding the staff approachable when they visit or call. Several families have particularly valued the emotional support they received during difficult times, especially when their loved ones were approaching end of life.

Based on 25 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth70
• Compassion & dignity70
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2021-12-17 · Report published 2021-12-17 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the April 2024 inspection. This indicates that inspectors did not identify significant concerns about safety, staffing numbers, medicines management, or infection control at the time of the visit. The home holds a specialism in dementia care, meaning the safety of people who may have limited awareness of risk is relevant to this rating. Beyond the domain rating itself, the published report does not include specific observations about falls management, night staffing ratios, or agency staff use.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safe is reassuring, but our Good Practice evidence review found that safety problems in care homes most often emerge at night, when staffing is thinner and oversight is lower. The published findings do not tell you how many staff are on duty after 8pm for 63 residents, and that is one of the most important numbers you need. Cleanliness accounts for 24.3% of positive family reviews in our data, but the inspection text does not describe the physical state of the home. Visit unannounced if possible, or ask to walk the dementia unit at a quiet time of day when formal tours are less likely to be pre-arranged.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing levels are the point at which safety most commonly deteriorates in care homes, and that reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency that people with dementia particularly need.","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 staff on night shifts, and ask what the minimum number of carers on the dementia unit is after 10pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the April 2024 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, nutrition, and how well the home puts its knowledge into practice for each individual. The home lists dementia as a specialism, so inspectors would have considered whether staff have appropriate dementia-specific training. No detail about the content of training programmes, frequency of care plan reviews, or GP access arrangements appears in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effective care for someone with dementia depends heavily on staff who understand how the condition changes over time and who update care plans to keep pace with those changes. Our Good Practice evidence identifies care plans as living documents, not paperwork completed on admission and filed away. Food quality is one of the clearest signals of genuine attentiveness; it accounts for 20.9% of positive family reviews in our data, but this inspection does not describe mealtimes or dietary support at all. Ask to see a copy of a sample care plan structure and ask how often it is formally reviewed with the family.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base found that regular GP access and timely medication reviews are markers of effective care, particularly for people with dementia who may not be able to communicate changes in their health. Homes with strong Effective ratings tend to have proactive rather than reactive healthcare relationships.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether families are invited to take part in those reviews. Ask specifically what dementia training staff complete and when it was last updated."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the April 2024 inspection. This is the domain most directly connected to the daily experience of your parent and covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, privacy, and whether residents are treated as individuals. A Good rating means inspectors did not find concerns in these areas. The published report does not include any direct quotes from residents or relatives, nor specific observations about how staff interact with people day to day.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity account for 55.2%. A Good rating for Caring tells you the inspector was satisfied, but it does not tell you whether staff know your mum's preferred name, whether they sit with her when she is anxious, or whether they move without hurry. Our Good Practice evidence highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as words for people with dementia, and that genuinely person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and routines. Observe interactions directly on a visit rather than relying on the domain rating alone.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care, where staff know and respond to the individual rather than following a generic routine, produces measurably better outcomes for people with dementia in terms of reduced distress and greater engagement.","watch_out":"When you visit, notice whether staff address residents by name and whether interactions feel unhurried. Ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name is and what they most enjoy doing, to test whether individual knowledge is genuinely embedded."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the April 2024 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, how well the home responds to changing needs, and end-of-life care planning. A Good rating suggests inspectors found the home was meeting individuals' preferences and responding appropriately to their needs. No specific activities are described, no examples of tailored engagement are recorded, and end-of-life planning is not mentioned in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews in our data, and resident happiness accounts for 27.1%. For people with dementia, the evidence strongly supports individual engagement rather than group-only activities, since many people at more advanced stages cannot participate in communal programmes. The published findings give no information about what a typical day looks like for a resident on the dementia unit, or whether staff offer one-to-one time to people who cannot join groups. Ask to see the activities schedule and, crucially, ask what happens for someone who stays in their room.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-based approaches, including familiar everyday activities such as folding, sorting, and gardening, can provide meaningful engagement for people with advanced dementia and reduce agitation more effectively than formal group sessions.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator what one-to-one engagement is offered to residents who cannot or do not join group sessions. Ask to see the activities records for the past month and check whether individual sessions are logged alongside group ones."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the April 2024 inspection. A named registered manager, Mrs Christina Susi Hartles, and a nominated individual, Mrs Nilufa Somani, were in post at the time. This structure indicates clear lines of accountability. The Well-led domain covers governance, learning from incidents, staff culture, and whether the home has an open and improving culture. No specific detail about how the manager is visible to residents and staff, or how the home analyses and acts on incidents, appears in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality in care homes. Our Good Practice evidence found that leadership continuity, particularly at registered manager level, is linked to better outcomes for residents over time. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive review themes in our data, but the inspection does not describe how the home keeps families informed or how it handles complaints. The home's rating previously declined to Requires Improvement before returning to Good, which suggests there was a period of instability worth asking about directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that homes with stable, visible leadership and cultures where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear consistently perform better over time, and that bottom-up staff empowerment is a stronger predictor of sustained quality than top-down compliance processes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post and whether the same leadership team was in place during the previous Requires Improvement period. Ask how families are kept informed if something goes wrong and what the process is for raising a concern."}

  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 cares for adults over 65 and under 65, with particular experience in dementia support.. Gaps or open questions remain on Staff work to engage residents with dementia in suitable daily activities. The team aims to maintain routines that help residents feel settled. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.