Springkell House

What families say

Visitors often comment on how the team here responds quickly to needs and concerns. The atmosphere feels cosy and welcoming, with staff encouraging residents to join in activities both indoors and in the accessible garden spaces.

Based on 11 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
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-09-13 · Report published 2023-09-13 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Safe at its August 2025 inspection. The published findings do not include specific detail on staffing ratios, falls management, medicines handling, or infection control practices. A named registered manager is in post, which is a basic governance requirement. Beyond the rating itself, the inspection text available does not record specific inspector observations about night staffing, agency use, or incident learning for this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating tells you inspectors were satisfied with the broad picture, but the detail that most affects your parent's day-to-day safety is not in the published report. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in residential care homes: if there are too few staff on after 8pm for 35 residents, early signs of deterioration can be missed. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness is one of the factors families mention when describing homes where they felt their parent was genuinely safe. You cannot assess this from the published report alone, so a visit at an unusual time, such as late afternoon or early evening, will tell you far more than an official document.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the clearest predictors of inconsistent safety outcomes in care homes, because unfamiliar staff do not know residents well enough to notice subtle changes in behaviour or condition.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many permanent carers were on overnight versus agency staff. For 35 residents with dementia, the minimum safe overnight staffing is a question worth pressing on."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Effective at its August 2025 inspection. The published findings do not include specific detail on care plan quality, GP access, dementia training content, or nutritional monitoring. The home is registered as a dementia specialist, which means inspectors will have assessed whether care practices were appropriate for that group. The inspection did not publish specific observations about how care plans are structured or how frequently they are reviewed.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a parent with dementia, the Effective domain covers some of the things that matter most: does the care team actually know your parent, does your parent get timely medical attention, and are staff trained to understand dementia rather than just manage it? Good Practice research from the Leeds Beckett review found that care plans function best when they are treated as living documents updated with family input, rather than paperwork completed on admission and filed away. Food quality is also part of this domain and is cited in 20.9% of positive family reviews as a key marker of genuine care. None of this specific detail is available in the published report for Springkell House, so you should ask directly.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training quality, not just its presence, is a significant predictor of whether residents with dementia experience distress. Training that covers communication, non-verbal cues, and life history approaches produces measurably better outcomes than generic care training.","watch_out":"Ask what dementia-specific training every member of the care team has completed in the last 12 months, and ask to see the training log. Then ask how your parent's life history and personal preferences would be recorded in their care plan and who would be responsible for keeping that document current."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Caring at its August 2025 inspection. The published findings do not include specific inspector observations about how staff speak to residents, whether residents are addressed by preferred names, or how the team responds when someone with dementia becomes distressed. A Good rating in this domain means inspectors were satisfied that the culture of care met the standard, but the detail behind that judgement is not available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data: 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes mention it by name. Compassion and dignity are cited in 55.2% of reviews. These are not abstract qualities. They show up in observable, specific behaviours: does a carer knock before entering a room, do they use your parent's preferred name, do they sit down rather than stand over someone when speaking to them? The inspection gives Springkell House a Good rating for Caring, but without recorded observations or resident and family testimony in the published text, you cannot verify what that looks like on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon. Your own visit is the most important source of evidence here.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base finds that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal communication for people living with dementia, and that staff who have taken time to learn a resident's life history are significantly more effective at de-escalating distress and maintaining dignity during personal care.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch one mealtime from start to finish. Notice whether staff sit with residents or stand over them, whether they use residents' names, and whether anyone is left waiting without acknowledgement. This is the single most revealing observation you can make in 30 minutes."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Responsive at its August 2025 inspection. The published findings do not include specific detail on the activities programme, one-to-one engagement for residents with advanced dementia, or how individual preferences are built into daily routines. The home is registered as a dementia specialist and residential care provider for 35 people. Without the detailed inspection narrative, it is not possible to assess from published information what daily life actually looks like for residents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities and engagement account for 21.4%. For a parent with dementia, the question is not whether the home has a weekly bingo session but whether someone is responsible for spending meaningful time with your parent as an individual, particularly if their dementia means they cannot easily join a group. Good Practice research identifies Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks, such as folding, watering plants, or helping to lay a table, as particularly effective for maintaining a sense of purpose and reducing distress in people with moderate to advanced dementia. The inspection gives a Good rating but does not tell you whether any of this is happening at Springkell House.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that tailored one-to-one activities, rather than group programmes alone, produce the strongest evidence for reducing anxiety and improving wellbeing in people living with dementia in residential care settings.","watch_out":"Ask to see the last two weeks of actual activity records, not the planned programme. Then ask specifically what happens for a resident whose dementia means they cannot participate in group activities: who spends time with them individually, and how is that recorded?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Well-led at its August 2025 inspection. The registered manager is Mr Jozef Tomko and the nominated individual is Mr Arinesalingam Gnanakumar, both named in the registration record. The home is run by Madeprice Limited. The published inspection findings do not include specific observations about manager visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home responds to complaints. A Good rating indicates inspectors found leadership met the standard at the time of the inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management quality matters more than it might initially appear. Our family review data shows that management and leadership features in 23.4% of positive reviews, often linked to how well families feel informed and included. Good Practice research identifies leadership stability as one of the clearest predictors of quality trajectory: homes with consistent, visible management tend to improve or maintain their rating, while homes with frequent manager changes often show declining quality over time. The inspection confirms a Good rating and a named registered manager, but does not tell you how long that manager has been in post or how embedded they are in the daily life of the home.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that care homes where staff felt able to raise concerns without fear of reprisal consistently produced better outcomes for residents with dementia, and that this culture was directly linked to the behaviour and visibility of the registered manager.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly how long they have been in post at Springkell House and what the biggest change they have made since joining is. The answer will tell you both about their tenure and about how they think about leadership."}

  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 Springkell House specialises in dementia care and supports adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team understands the specific needs of people living with dementia, creating a supportive environment where residents can maintain their independence safely. The accessible garden spaces provide gentle stimulation and opportunities for outdoor enjoyment. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.