Dementia Care Home

Summer Fields Care Home

52-58 Rock Lane West, Birkenhead, Merseyside, CH42 4PA

Residential homes

At a Glance

The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.

DCC Family Score
72/ 100
Weighted from family reviews
Dementia SpecialismConfirmed

Residential homes

Families Rate The Staff55 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”55%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds50
  • SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia
  • Last inspected2018-05-17

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The Evidence

What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.

Section 01

What families say

Families who've visited have noticed how approachable and friendly the staff are. There's something reassuring about walking into a care home where the team genuinely seem pleased to see you.

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth55
  • Compassion & dignity60
  • Cleanliness50
  • Activities & engagement50
  • Food quality50
  • Healthcare50
  • Management & leadership65
  • Resident happiness55
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-05-17

  • Is this home safe?

    Requires improvement
    Safety was rated Requires Improvement at the January 2022 inspection, making it the only domain not to achieve a Good rating. The available published text does not set out the specific concerns that led to this rating. The home supports people living with dementia across 50 beds, a group for whom safety risks including falls, wandering, and medication errors are particularly significant. No specific inspector observations, resident testimony, or record review findings on safety matters are available in the text provided. This rating and the absence of supporting detail make safety the most important area for families to probe before making a decision.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Good
    The Effective domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers how well the home assesses and plans care, whether staff have the right training and skills, and how well it supports residents' health and nutrition. The home lists dementia as a specialism and accepts residents both over and under 65. No specific inspector observations, care plan examples, training records, or food-related findings are available in the published text provided for this analysis. The Good rating indicates that inspectors were satisfied with the overall quality of practice in this domain, but the absence of specific detail limits what can be said with confidence.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Good
    The Caring domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether staff treat residents with kindness, respect privacy and dignity, and support independence. Staff warmth and compassion together account for the two highest-weighted themes in DCC family review data, at 57.3% and 55.2% respectively, making this the domain families care most about. No specific inspector observations of staff interactions, resident testimony about how they feel treated, or examples of dignity in practice are available in the published text provided. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied, but the absence of specific detail means this cannot be independently verified from the report text alone.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Good
    The Responsive domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors care to individual needs, provides meaningful activities, and supports residents' wellbeing and independence. It also includes how the home handles complaints and plans for end-of-life care. No specific examples of activities, individual care adjustments, or end-of-life planning are available in the published text provided. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the home's approach to responsiveness, but the absence of supporting detail limits what can be said with confidence.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Good
    The Well-led domain was rated Good at the January 2022 inspection. A registered manager, Mrs Nicola Jayne Howis, and a nominated individual, Mr Andrew James Newbolt, are named in the published report, suggesting a clear accountability structure. The home is operated by Your Health Limited. No specific observations of the manager's visibility on the floor, staff culture, or governance processes are available in the published text. The Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with leadership and oversight, and having a named, stable manager in post is a positive indicator.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    The home cares for adults across different age groups, including those under 65 who need residential support. They have experience supporting people with dementia alongside their general residential care services. For residents living with dementia, the team work to create a supportive environment that helps people feel secure and valued. They understand that each person's experience of dementia is unique. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.

The DCC Verdict

Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.

72/ 100

DCC Family Score

Summer Fields scores 72 out of 100 on the DCC Family Score. Four of five inspection domains were rated Good, but the Safety rating of Requires Improvement pulls the overall picture down, and the published report contains very limited specific detail to support higher confidence across any theme.

Homes in North West typically score 68–82.

The three-lens summary

Lens 01

What families tell us

Families who've visited have noticed how approachable and friendly the staff are. There's something reassuring about walking into a care home where the team genuinely seem pleased to see you.

Lens 02

What inspectors have recorded

Lens 03

How it sits against good practice

Getting a feel for a care home takes more than reading about it — why not arrange a visit to see if Summer Fields could be right for your family?

DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Summer Fields, on Rock Lane West in Birkenhead, was inspected in January 2022 with findings published in February 2022. The home received an overall rating of Good, with four of its five inspection domains rated Good, covering the quality and effectiveness of care, the kindness of staff, how well the home responds to individual needs, and the quality of leadership. The home supports up to 50 people, including adults living with dementia, and is run by Your Health Limited with a named registered manager in post. The one area of concern is Safety, which was rated Requires Improvement at this inspection. The published report text available for this analysis does not include enough specific detail to explain precisely what the safety concern was, which means it is not possible to say with confidence whether it has since been addressed. This is now over three years ago and a follow-up inspection may have taken place. Before visiting, call the home and ask the manager directly what the Safety finding related to, what action was taken, and whether a subsequent inspection has been completed. On your visit, pay particular attention to staffing levels in the evening and overnight, and ask to see evidence of how the home records and learns from accidents or incidents.

The three questions to ask when you visit

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In Their Own Words

How Summer Fields Care Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Summer Fields Care Home says about itself

Welcoming care for adults with dementia in Birkenhead

Residential home in Birkenhead: True Peace of Mind

When you're looking for the right care, those first impressions really matter. Summer Fields in Birkenhead provides residential care for adults both under and over 65, with particular experience supporting people living with dementia. The team here focus on creating a welcoming environment where residents feel comfortable from day one.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    The home cares for adults across different age groups, including those under 65 who need residential support. They have experience supporting people with dementia alongside their general residential care services.

    How they describe their dementia care

    For residents living with dementia, the team work to create a supportive environment that helps people feel secure and valued. They understand that each person's experience of dementia is unique.

    “Getting a feel for a care home takes more than reading about it — why not arrange a visit to see if Summer Fields could be right for your family?”

    DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.

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