The Grange Retirement Home (Chertsey)

What families say

Visitors frequently describe the carers as patient and friendly, with several families noting how staff take time to connect with residents. The home runs a programme of activities that helps keep residents engaged throughout the day. Many relatives appreciate seeing their loved ones participating in structured activities or enjoying quiet time in the gardens.

Based on 32 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth70
• Compassion & dignity70
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement65
• Food quality65
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership65
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2024-06-29 · Report published 2024-06-29 · Inspected 6 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The August 2024 assessment rated this domain Good. The individual findings that supported this rating are not reproduced in the available inspection text. The June 2024 inspection, which contributed to the overall Requires Improvement outcome, did not publish individual domain scores, so it is not known whether safety was a specific area of concern at that point. The home is registered to provide nursing care, which means a registered nurse should be on duty at all times, but the staffing numbers and any findings around medicines management or incident reporting are not recorded in the published material available for this report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Safety is the foundation that every other aspect of care rests on, and the Good rating in August 2024 is encouraging. That said, the Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies night staffing as the single point where safety most commonly slips in care homes, and the published findings give no detail about how many staff are on overnight for 62 residents. Agency staff usage is also a known risk factor: when unfamiliar staff cover shifts, they do not know your parent's routines, triggers, or medical history, and continuity suffers. Because the June 2024 concerns are unspecified, you cannot assume safety was unaffected.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance are the two factors most strongly associated with safety incidents in care homes, yet they are among the least likely to be visible to families on a daytime visit.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not the template. Count how many shifts were covered by agency staff, and ask specifically how many care staff and how many nurses are on duty overnight for all 62 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The August 2024 assessment rated this domain Good. The home is registered to provide nursing care, treatment of disease and disorder, and diagnostic and screening procedures, indicating a clinical remit beyond basic personal care. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which implies a requirement for trained staff and appropriate care planning processes. No specific findings about care plan quality, GP access, medicines management, or dementia training content are reproduced in the available inspection text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that specialises in dementia and nursing care, effectiveness means more than ticking compliance boxes. It means your parent's care plan is updated when their needs change, that a GP is accessible promptly when something goes wrong, and that the staff who deliver personal care have received specific, up-to-date training in dementia rather than just a basic induction module. Food quality is also an indicator of effectiveness: for people with dementia, who may have difficulty communicating hunger or food preferences, getting nutrition right requires genuine effort and knowledge. The inspection gives a Good rating here but no specific evidence to show families what good looks like in practice at this home.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans treated as living documents, updated after every significant change in health or behaviour, are one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes for people with dementia. A care plan that was accurate six months ago may not reflect your parent's needs today.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are reviewed and what triggers an unscheduled review. Then ask to be shown the process for involving families in those reviews, not just notified after the fact."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The August 2024 assessment rated this domain Good. No inspector observations about staff interactions, resident dignity, use of preferred names, or response to distress are reproduced in the available inspection text. The Good rating is a positive signal, but without specific supporting detail it is not possible to describe to families what caring looks like in practice at this home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. The observable signs that matter most, staff using your parent's preferred name, entering a room after knocking, sitting down rather than standing over someone during a conversation, moving without visible hurry, are things you can assess yourself in about 20 minutes on a visit. A Good rating here is encouraging, but a rating alone cannot tell you how your mum or dad will actually feel being cared for by this team.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that non-verbal communication, tone of voice, eye contact, and physical pace, matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia who may have lost reliable language. Homes where staff are trained to read and respond to non-verbal cues produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"Arrive unannounced if the home permits it, or ask to walk through a communal area before a scheduled meeting. Notice whether staff greet residents by name as they pass, whether residents look engaged or disengaged, and whether call bells are answered promptly."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The August 2024 assessment rated this domain Good. The home accepts residents with a wide range of needs including dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, suggesting it has experience tailoring care to diverse individuals. No specific findings about activity programmes, one-to-one engagement, end-of-life planning, or individual preference records are reproduced in the available inspection text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Responsiveness matters most for people with dementia because their ability to ask for what they want or tell you what is wrong diminishes over time. A home that is genuinely responsive will know your parent's life history, their preferred daily rhythm, what music they like, and what upsets them, and will build that knowledge into everyday care rather than keeping it in a folder. Our review data shows that resident happiness is referenced in 27.1% of positive family reviews, and activities in 21.4%. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient: residents who cannot participate in groups need meaningful one-to-one engagement, and this is where many homes fall short regardless of their overall rating.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice 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 scheduled group programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to show you last week's actual activity records, not the planned programme on the noticeboard. Ask specifically what was offered to any residents who are bedbound or unable to join group sessions on each of those days."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The August 2024 assessment rated this domain Good. The registered manager is named as Mrs Anjaleena Kuriakose, and the nominated individual is Mrs Anne Marie Marrah. The home has been inspected six times since registration, which suggests an established track record. The overall Requires Improvement rating linked to the June 2024 inspection raises a question about whether governance or leadership was part of the concern at that point, but because individual domain scores from that inspection are not published, this cannot be confirmed or ruled out.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence review. A named, consistent registered manager who staff know and trust creates the conditions for everything else to work. The Good rating in August 2024 is positive, but the previous decline to Requires Improvement is a signal worth investigating. Families in our review data mention communication with management in 11.5% of positive reviews, and the question is not just whether a manager is present but whether they are genuinely accountable and responsive when things go wrong. A good manager will be able to tell you clearly and without hesitation what the June 2024 concerns were and exactly what has changed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice review found that care homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear of reprisal, what researchers call psychological safety, consistently outperform homes where leadership is distant or defensive, even when staffing numbers and building quality are similar.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager directly: what were the specific findings that led to the Requires Improvement outcome in June 2024, what actions did the home take in response, and has a follow-up inspection confirmed those improvements? A confident, open answer is itself a good sign. Vagueness or deflection is a reason to keep asking."}

  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 home welcomes adults of all ages who need support, including younger people with physical disabilities. They have experience caring for residents with sensory impairments and provide specialist dementia care.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team supports residents living with dementia through patient, person-centred care. Staff understand the importance of maintaining routines and providing gentle encouragement with daily activities. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.