Springbank House Care Home

What families say

Based on 3 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality50
• Healthcare45
• Management & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-07-11 · Report published 2018-07-11 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The official inspection rated the Safe domain as Good. However, the inspection report available does not include specific narrative detail about what was observed or evidenced in this domain. No staffing numbers, incident data, medicines management findings, or infection control observations are included in the published text. The home cares for 41 people across a range of needs including dementia, which makes staffing adequacy particularly important to verify.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety is reassuring, but without supporting detail in the inspection text it is difficult to tell you precisely what this was based on. Our family review data shows that 14% of positive reviews specifically mention staff attentiveness as a reason for trusting a home with a parent's safety u2014 and attentiveness is especially important overnight, when staffing levels are typically lower. Good Practice research is clear that night staffing is where safety most often slips in care homes, particularly for people living with dementia who may be at risk of falls or distress after dark. The age of this inspection (2022) means you should ask the home directly about current staffing arrangements.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios are among the strongest predictors of safety incidents in care homes, and that agency staff unfamiliar with individual residents are associated with higher rates of avoidable harm.","watch_out":"Ask the home: 'How many staff are on duty overnight on the dementia unit, and what proportion of those shifts are covered by permanent staff rather than agency workers?'"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"The official inspection rated Effective as Requires Improvement u2014 the only domain not to achieve a Good rating. This is significant because Effective covers whether staff have the training they need, whether care plans are kept up to date and genuinely reflect your parent as a person, whether GP and healthcare access works well, and whether nutritional needs are met. The published inspection text does not include specific detail about what was found to be insufficient in this domain, which makes it harder to assess whether improvements have been made since March 2022.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement in this domain is the single most important thing to probe before choosing this home for your parent. Our family review data shows that 20.9% of positive reviews mention food quality and 20.2% mention healthcare access u2014 both sit within this domain. Good Practice evidence is consistent that care plans should be living documents, reviewed regularly with family input, and dementia training should go beyond basic awareness to include non-verbal communication and behaviour as communication. You cannot tell from the published report what specifically fell short, so you need to ask the manager directly and judge whether the answer sounds credible.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies care plan quality as a key differentiator between homes that provide person-centred dementia care and those that provide task-centred care u2014 plans that do not reflect individual preferences, life history, and communication style are associated with poorer wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: 'What specifically did the inspection find that led to Requires Improvement in Effective, what actions did you take, and has there been any follow-up assessment since March 2022?'"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The official inspection rated Caring as Good. This domain covers how warmly staff treat your parent, whether dignity and privacy are respected, and whether people are supported to maintain their independence. The published inspection text does not include specific observations, quotes from residents or relatives, or descriptions of interactions that would allow a more detailed picture. A Good rating here is positive, but the absence of narrative detail means it cannot be verified against specific evidence.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Caring is the domain that matters most to families choosing a home u2014 our review data shows staff warmth (57.3%) and compassion and dignity (55.2%) are the two highest-weighted themes in what families say makes a home trustworthy. Good Practice research emphasises that for people living with dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 a calm tone, unhurried body language, being called by a preferred name u2014 matters as much as any formal care process. A Good rating is a reasonable baseline, but you should observe staff interactions directly on your visit rather than relying on the rating alone.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led caring interactions u2014 where staff know an individual's life history, preferences, and communication style u2014 are associated with significantly lower rates of agitation and distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch how staff greet your parent during the tour u2014 do they use their name, make eye contact, and take a moment to connect? Notice whether any interactions feel rushed or transactional."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The official inspection rated Responsive as Good. This domain covers whether your parent will have a meaningful life at Springbank House u2014 activities, engagement, individual choice, and end-of-life planning. The published text does not include specific detail about what activities are offered, how they are tailored to individuals, or what end-of-life arrangements look like. The home cares for people across a wide range of needs, which means the responsiveness of care to individual circumstances is particularly important to explore.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that resident happiness (27.1%) and activities engagement (21.4%) are among the themes families mention most when describing why a home is a good fit. Good Practice research consistently shows that group activities alone are insufficient for people living with more advanced dementia u2014 individual engagement, including everyday meaningful tasks like folding, sorting, or simple gardening, is what sustains wellbeing when group participation becomes difficult. A Good rating is encouraging, but you need to ask specifically what happens for your parent on a day when they cannot or do not want to join a group.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review identifies Montessori-based and occupation-focused individual activities as among the strongest evidence-based approaches to maintaining wellbeing and reducing distress in people living with moderate to advanced dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: 'If my parent can't join a group session, what would one-to-one engagement look like for them on a typical afternoon?' Then ask to see the actual activity records, not just the planned schedule."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The official inspection rated Well-led as Good. The home has a named Registered Manager (Mrs Claire Allen) and a Nominated Individual (Mrs Mandy Vernon) in place, and is run by Hill Care Limited. A defined leadership structure is a positive sign. However, the published inspection text does not include detail about manager visibility, staff culture, how concerns are handled, or what governance systems are in place u2014 all of which matter for understanding whether leadership is genuinely effective day to day.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that management quality and communication with families (combined weight 34.9%) are significant drivers of family confidence in a home. Good Practice research is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time u2014 homes with consistent, visible managers who empower staff to speak up tend to maintain and improve their ratings, while homes with frequent management changes often deteriorate. The inspection is now over two years old, so it is worth checking whether the same manager is still in post and whether staffing has remained stable.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies a bottom-up empowerment culture u2014 where frontline staff feel safe to raise concerns and managers act on them u2014 as a key differentiator between homes that sustain quality and those that do not.","watch_out":"Ask: 'Is Mrs Claire Allen still the Registered Manager, and how long has she been in post?' Then ask: 'How do you keep families informed if something goes wrong with my parent's care u2014 can you give me a recent example?'"}

  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 team supports residents with dementia alongside those with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. They're equipped to care for both younger adults and those over 65, providing flexible support across different age groups.. Gaps or open questions remain on Dementia care is one of their key specialisms, with staff experienced in supporting residents through different stages of the condition. The home provides structured routines and familiar environments to help residents feel secure. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.