St Giles Care Home

What families say

The activities programme gets particular praise from families, who say their relatives genuinely anticipate the scheduled events. Staff are described as approachable and willing to engage with families about their loved ones' care. The outdoor spaces provide valued opportunities for residents to enjoy fresh air and garden time.

Based on 46 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 & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-09-21 · Report published 2023-09-21 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and the physical safety of the environment. The published summary does not include specific observations about night staffing numbers, agency staff usage, or how the home records and responds to falls and incidents. The improvement from the previous rating suggests that concerns identified earlier have been addressed, though the published text does not detail what those concerns were or how they were resolved.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An improvement in the Safe domain is genuinely reassuring, particularly when the previous rating was Requires Improvement. However, the Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, March 2026) identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in care homes, and the published inspection does not tell you how many staff are on overnight in a 66-bed home. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness is mentioned in 14% of positive reviews, which tells you families notice when someone is watching out for their parent and when they are not. Ask specifically about night ratios and agency reliance before you decide.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance undermines consistency and that learning from incidents is one of the clearest markers of whether a home's safety culture is genuine rather than procedural.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many permanent staff, not agency or bank workers, are on duty overnight, and what is the ratio of carers to residents after 10pm? Request to see the actual rota from last week rather than the staffing template."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, access to healthcare professionals, nutrition and hydration, and how well the home supports residents to maintain their health and independence. The home lists dementia as a specialism and supports residents with a wide range of conditions, which places significant demands on staff training and care planning. The published summary does not include specific detail about training content, how frequently care plans are reviewed, or how the home manages GP access and medication reviews.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in this domain tells you that inspectors did not find significant failings in care planning or healthcare, which is the minimum you would expect. What it does not tell you is whether your parent's care plan will reflect who they actually are: their preferred name, the routines that comfort them, and the foods they have always enjoyed. Our family review data identifies dementia-specific care as a theme in 12.7% of positive reviews, and the Good Practice evidence base highlights care plans as living documents that should be updated regularly and shaped by family input. Ask to read a sample care plan on your visit, with names removed, to see whether it feels personal or generic.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that dementia training quality varies considerably between homes even when training is nominally in place, and that the content and frequency of training matters as much as whether it is completed at all.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia training staff have completed in the last 12 months, who delivered it, and how it is refreshed. Ask whether you, as a family member, would be invited to contribute to your parent's care plan and how often that plan is reviewed."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth and kindness, dignity and respect, privacy, and whether residents are supported to remain as independent as possible. The published summary does not include specific inspector observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they feel treated, or examples of how the home promotes privacy during personal care. The Good rating indicates that inspectors did not find evidence of poor practice in these areas during their visit.","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 features in 55.2%. These are not small numbers: they tell you that when families feel good about a care home, it is almost always because of how staff treat the person they care about. The Good Practice evidence base also highlights that for people with dementia, non-verbal communication, the pace of an interaction, a gentle tone, a familiar face, matters as much as any formal care intervention. Because the published inspection does not include specific observations here, you should plan to arrive unannounced or at an off-peak time to see for yourself how staff move through the home.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual in depth, including their history, habits, and preferences, and that this knowledge is built through consistency of staffing rather than through paperwork alone.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff greet the people they pass in corridors. Do they stop, make eye contact, and use a name? Or do they walk past without acknowledgement? This is one of the most reliable signals of the day-to-day caring culture in a home."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection. This domain covers whether the home offers activities and engagement that are meaningful to individuals, whether residents can make choices about their daily lives, and how the home handles complaints and end-of-life care. St. Giles supports residents with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical and sensory impairments, which means the activity and engagement programme needs to be adapted to a wide range of abilities. The published summary does not include specific examples of the activity programme, individual engagement for residents who cannot join groups, or how the home manages end-of-life care planning.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness and contentment appear in 27.1%. These figures reflect how much families value seeing their parent occupied, purposeful, and settled. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that tailored individual activities, not just group sessions, are particularly important for people with advanced dementia who may not be able to join a communal programme. A Good rating in this domain is encouraging, but it does not tell you whether your mum would have something meaningful to do on a wet Wednesday afternoon. Ask to see the activity records for the past month and ask specifically what happens for residents who cannot participate in group sessions.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks, such as folding, sorting, or simple gardening, can provide continuity and purpose for people with dementia, and that these are more effective when tailored to the individual's life history.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you the programme from last month and point out which sessions were for individuals rather than groups. Ask what your parent would be doing between 2pm and 4pm on a day when no group activity is scheduled."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the July 2023 inspection, and this is the third inspection the home has undergone since registration. A named registered manager and a nominated individual are both recorded, indicating a clear leadership structure. The improvement from the previous Requires Improvement overall rating suggests that management has been able to address earlier concerns, which is a positive indicator of leadership effectiveness. The published summary does not include specific detail about how the manager engages with staff and residents, how the home handles complaints, or what governance systems are in place to monitor quality.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership appear in 23.4% of positive family reviews, and the Good Practice evidence base is clear that leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of a home's quality trajectory over time. The fact that this home has moved from Requires Improvement to Good across all domains is a meaningful signal that leadership has responded to scrutiny. However, the published inspection does not tell you how long the current registered manager has been in post, how visible they are to residents and families day to day, or what the staff turnover rate looks like. These are the questions that will tell you whether the improvement is embedded or fragile.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that leadership stability and a culture where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear are among the most reliable predictors of sustained care quality, more so than any single policy or procedure.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post at St. Giles specifically, not just in the sector, and ask what the staff turnover rate has been over the past 12 months. A manager who knows their staff well and has low turnover is one of the strongest indicators of a home that will maintain its Good rating rather than slip back."}

  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 St. Giles provides care for both younger and older adults with physical disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health conditions. The home has experience supporting residents through end-of-life care, with families noting the dignity provided during these difficult times.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home's structured activities and outdoor spaces offer important opportunities for engagement and stimulation. Families value the staff's approachable nature when discussing the specific needs of their loved ones with dementia. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.