St Anne's

What families say

Families describe finding genuine belonging here during life's most vulnerable transitions. They talk about relatives who truly settled in, finding their place when everything else felt uncertain.

Based on 5 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare50
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-02-15 · Report published 2020-02-15 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and safeguarding. The published report does not include specific detail about how many staff are on duty at different times, how medicines are managed, or any incidents logged and reviewed. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but the evidence behind that judgement is not visible in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is the foundation of any care decision, and a Good rating here is reassuring as a starting point. However, the Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, March 2026) flags that safety most often slips on night shifts, where staffing is thinnest and agency cover is highest. Our review data shows that safe environment concerns appear in 11.8% of family reviews. Because this inspection is now over four years old, conditions may have changed. You need to ask directly about night staffing numbers and how incidents are recorded and acted on.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios are the single point in the day where safety most commonly deteriorates in residential dementia care, and that over-reliance on agency staff undermines the consistency of care that people with dementia need.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the previous two weeks. Count how many named permanent staff appear on night shifts versus agency names, and ask what the minimum staffing level is overnight for the 38 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, access to healthcare professionals, and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would have expected to see appropriate training and care planning in place. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, GP access arrangements, or food provision is included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that specialises in dementia, what staff actually know and do matters enormously. Our review data shows that dementia-specific care is mentioned in 12.7% of positive family reviews, and food quality in 20.9%. The Good Practice evidence review confirms that care plans should function as living documents, updated when your parent's needs change, not filed away after admission. The absence of specific evidence here means you cannot rely on the inspection alone to answer these questions. You need to ask to see how care plans are reviewed and how the home involves families.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review identifies regular, structured access to GPs and dementia-specialist practitioners as a key marker of effective care, alongside care plans that are genuinely co-produced with the person and their family rather than completed by staff alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed and whether you would be invited to take part. Then ask specifically: what dementia training have staff completed, and when was it last updated?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This is the domain that covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether your parent is treated as an individual. No inspector observations of staff interactions, no resident or family quotes, and no specific examples of person-centred practice are included in the published report. The Good rating implies inspectors were satisfied with what they observed, but without detail it is not possible to say what that looked like in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together appear in 55.2%. These are the things families notice most and worry about most. The Good Practice evidence review underlines that non-verbal communication, such as tone of voice, eye contact, and unhurried presence, matters as much as verbal interaction for people with dementia. Because the inspection text gives you nothing specific to hold on to here, a visit is essential. Observe how staff move through corridors, how they speak to residents, and whether anyone looks rushed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff use preferred names and adapt their approach to each person show measurably better outcomes for residents with dementia.","watch_out":"On your visit, watch an unscripted moment: a staff member passing a resident in a corridor, a drink being offered, a call bell being answered. Does the staff member make eye contact, use the resident's name, and take a moment to connect? This tells you more than any planned demonstration."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. This domain covers activities, how the home responds to individual needs and preferences, and end-of-life planning. The home has 38 beds and specialises in dementia care. No detail about the activities programme, how individual preferences are identified, or how the home manages end-of-life care is included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness appears in 27.1% of family reviews and activities in 21.4%, making this one of the most important domains for families choosing a dementia care home. The Good Practice evidence review specifically highlights that group activities alone are not enough: people living with advanced dementia need one-to-one engagement tailored to their history, whether that is a particular piece of music, a familiar household task, or simply a calm presence. Without any published detail here, you cannot assess this from the inspection alone. Ask to see the actual activities schedule from last week, not a template, and ask what happens for residents who cannot join group sessions.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches, including everyday household tasks that draw on long-term memory, produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than generic group entertainment.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities record from the previous week, not the planned schedule. Then ask specifically: for a resident who can no longer join group activities, what does a typical Tuesday afternoon look like? Who spends time with them, and how is that recorded?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the October 2020 inspection. A registered manager, Miss Hayley Dawn Ashton, is named in the registration record, alongside nominated individual Emily Medland. This confirms formal accountability is in place. The published inspection text does not include any detail about management visibility, staff culture, how feedback is gathered and acted on, or how the home responds to incidents and complaints.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Our review data shows that management and communication with families together feature in nearly 35% of family feedback themes. The Good Practice evidence review confirms that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory: homes where the manager is known to staff, residents, and families by name, and where staff feel they can raise concerns without fear, consistently outperform those where management is distant or frequently changing. The inspection is over four years old, so leadership continuity since 2020 is a genuine question to ask.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that bottom-up staff empowerment, where care workers feel their concerns are heard and acted on by management, is one of the strongest structural indicators of sustained good practice in dementia care.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly how long they have been in post and whether the same registered manager named in the 2020 inspection is still leading the home. Then ask: how do staff raise concerns, and can you give me an example of something that changed because a carer flagged it?"}

  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 specialises in dementia care alongside residential support for over-65s. They understand the particular needs that come with memory loss and cognitive changes.. Gaps or open questions remain on While specific approaches aren't detailed in family experiences, St Anne's focuses on creating stability when dementia disrupts familiar routines. The home aims to provide continuity through life's most challenging transitions. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.