The Mayfields Care Home, Norfolk
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Residential homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds60
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
- Last inspected2020-05-14
- Activities programmeThe food here is home-cooked and tailored to individual needs, with staff providing gentle support during mealtimes when needed. Families consistently mention how clean and well-maintained everything is. The gardens and courtyard offer lovely outdoor spaces, while inside there's a strong programme of music and games that keeps residents engaged.
- Visit Website
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
What strikes families most is how staff genuinely invest in residents' happiness. They're particularly skilled at encouraging people to join in activities, gently drawing out those who might otherwise sit back. The home feels bright and well-organised, with pleasant gardens and seasonal decorations that create a cheerful atmosphere throughout the year.
Based on 40 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth55
- Compassion & dignity58
- Cleanliness60
- Activities & engagement52
- Food quality52
- Healthcare58
- Management & leadership42
- Resident happiness55
What inspectors found
Inspected 2020-05-14 · Report published 2020-05-14 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years
Is this home safe?
{"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the December 2019 inspection. This indicates that inspectors judged the home to be meeting the expected standard for safety at that point in time. The published summary does not include specific observations about medicines management, falls prevention, staffing ratios, or infection control. No detail about night staffing or agency staff usage was recorded in the published text. Given that this rating is now over five years old, it should be treated as a starting point rather than a current guarantee.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety is reassuring, but it tells you relatively little without the supporting detail. Good Practice research from the IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that safety in care homes most commonly slips at night, when staffing is thinner and oversight is reduced. The published findings do not tell you how many carers were on duty overnight for 60 beds, or how often agency staff were used instead of permanent employees. These are exactly the questions that matter most for your parent's safety and they are not answered here. Ask to see a staffing rota from last week, not a template, and count the permanent versus agency names on night shifts.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two most common factors when safety incidents occur in residential care. A home with 60 beds and an unknown night staffing profile is one where this question needs a direct answer.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a planned template. Count how many shifts were covered by agency staff, particularly overnight, and ask what the minimum staffing level is when the home is at full capacity."}
Is the care effective?
{"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the December 2019 inspection. This covers training, care planning, access to healthcare, and food quality. The published summary does not include specific detail on any of these areas. There is no record of what dementia-specific training staff had completed, how often care plans were reviewed, or how food quality was assessed. The absence of detail in the published text means this rating cannot be fully interpreted without additional information from the home itself.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For a home that lists dementia as a specialism and cares for people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments, the quality of training matters enormously. Good Practice research consistently shows that care plans function best as living documents, reviewed regularly with family input, rather than paperwork completed at admission and rarely revisited. The inspection did not record how frequently care plans were reviewed here or whether families were involved. Food quality is cited in 20.9% of positive family reviews in our data, and mealtimes are often the clearest indicator of whether a home genuinely understands individual preferences. None of this was covered in the published findings, so it needs to come from your visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that dementia training focused on communication and non-verbal cue recognition produced measurable improvements in resident wellbeing. Generic care training without dementia-specific content is not sufficient for a home that lists dementia as a core specialism.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what specific dementia training staff have completed in the past 12 months, who delivered it, and whether it covered communicating with people who have limited or no verbal ability. Then ask to see a care plan for a current resident (anonymised if necessary) to check whether it records personal history, preferences, and a recent review date."}
Is this home caring?
{"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the December 2019 inspection. This covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and whether your parent's independence is supported. The published summary does not include any direct observations of staff interactions, no quotes from residents or families, and no specific examples of how dignity and privacy were maintained. A Good rating here means inspectors judged the standard to be met, but without the supporting 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: 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes mention it by name. Compassion and dignity are cited in 55.2% of positive reviews. These are not abstract qualities. They show up in very specific, observable moments: whether staff knock before entering a room, whether your parent is addressed by their preferred name, whether a conversation is unhurried, whether someone sits down rather than standing over them. The inspection found these things to be Good, but it did not record what inspectors actually saw. That means you need to observe these moments yourself on a visit, rather than relying on the rating alone.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research identifies non-verbal communication as equally important as verbal communication in dementia care. Staff who make eye contact, use calm body language, and do not rush physical care produce measurably better outcomes for people with dementia, regardless of verbal ability.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch how staff interact with residents in corridors and communal areas when they think no one is paying particular attention. Notice whether staff use residents' preferred names, whether they crouch or sit to speak at eye level, and whether they appear unhurried. These small moments are more informative than anything said in a meeting with the manager."}
Is the home responsive?
{"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the December 2019 inspection. This covers whether your parent would have a life at the home: meaningful activities, individual engagement, and end-of-life planning. The published summary does not include any specific detail about the activity programme, one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join group activities, or how the home responds to individual preferences and changing needs. A Good rating indicates the standard was met, but no supporting evidence was published.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is cited in 27.1% of positive family reviews in our data, and activities are mentioned in 21.4%. For people living with dementia, what matters is not just whether an activity programme exists on paper, but whether individual engagement is offered to people who cannot participate in group settings. Good Practice research highlights Montessori-based approaches and familiar household tasks as particularly effective for people with moderate to advanced dementia. The inspection did not assess whether this kind of individualised engagement was happening at The Mayfields. Given the home's specialism in dementia and physical disabilities, this is a question that deserves a specific answer.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University evidence review found that one-to-one activities tailored to a person's life history produced significantly better engagement and reduced distress behaviours compared to group activity programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the activity coordinator to describe what happened last Tuesday for a resident who was unable to join the group activity that day. If the answer is vague or defaults to 'they watched television', that tells you something important about how individualised the engagement actually is."}
Is the home well-led?
{"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Requires Improvement at the December 2019 inspection. This is the only domain to fall below Good and it covers management visibility, staff culture, governance, and whether the home learns from incidents and complaints. The published summary does not specify what the inspectors found to be inadequate, which actions were required, or what progress had been made by the time of the July 2023 monitoring review. The registered manager is named as Mrs Metisse Alice Wood and the nominated individual as Mr Viktor Zak, but no information about management tenure or staff culture is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Requires Improvement in Well-led is the finding that should concern you most when choosing a home for your parent. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability predicts the quality trajectory of a care home: homes with settled, visible management tend to improve over time, while those with leadership gaps or weak governance tend to drift. The inspection identified a problem here in December 2019, and while the July 2023 monitoring review found no evidence requiring immediate reassessment, that review was not a visit. It was a desk-based check. You do not know whether the governance issues identified in 2019 have been fully resolved, partially addressed, or are still present. Management quality is cited in 23.4% of positive family reviews in our data and communication with families in 11.5%. Both are at risk when leadership is weak. Communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews, which means when it goes well, families notice it, and when it does not, they notice that too.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University review found that empowering frontline staff to raise concerns without fear of reprisal is a reliable marker of a well-led service. Homes where staff feel unable to speak up tend to have higher incident rates and slower improvement trajectories.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: what specific improvements did the home make in response to the Requires Improvement rating in 2019, and how are those improvements monitored now? Then ask a member of care staff (not in the manager's presence if possible) how easy it is to raise a concern. The answers to both questions will tell you more than any paperwork."}
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 Mayfields provides specialist support for people with dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They care for adults both under and over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on The team here shows particular expertise in creating a supportive environment for residents with dementia. They handle potentially difficult situations thoughtfully, helping residents feel comfortable without making anyone feel singled out. — 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.
DCC Family Score
The Mayfields Care Home scores 62 out of 100, reflecting a broadly positive inspection across four of five domains, offset by a Requires Improvement rating for leadership and governance. The inspection findings are also now more than five years old, which means the picture here could have changed significantly.
Homes in East typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
What strikes families most is how staff genuinely invest in residents' happiness. They're particularly skilled at encouraging people to join in activities, gently drawing out those who might otherwise sit back. The home feels bright and well-organised, with pleasant gardens and seasonal decorations that create a cheerful atmosphere throughout the year.
What inspectors have recorded
Staff show real skill in supporting residents with dementia, managing challenging moments with tact and understanding. Families feel kept in the loop with regular updates and are welcomed warmly during visits. There's a sense that staff genuinely care about each resident's wellbeing, taking time to understand their preferences and needs.
How it sits against good practice
If you're looking for somewhere in Norwich that combines professional dementia care with genuine warmth, The Mayfields offers both in a well-maintained, engaging environment.
Worth a visit
The Mayfields Care Home, located in Tharston near Norwich, was rated Good overall at its last inspection in December 2019, with Good ratings across Safe, Effective, Caring, and Responsive domains. The Well-led domain was rated Requires Improvement, which is a meaningful flag: it means inspectors found that something in the way the home was managed and governed was not meeting the standard expected. Inspectors carried out a monitoring review in July 2023 and found no evidence requiring a new inspection at that stage, but that review was based on data and information rather than a visit to the home. The most important thing to be aware of is that these findings are now more than five years old. A lot can change in that time, including staffing, management, and the culture of a home. The Requires Improvement in Well-led means leadership was already a concern at the time of inspection, and you should ask directly what has changed since then. When you visit, ask to speak to the registered manager, Mrs Metisse Alice Wood, and find out how long she has been in post and what improvements were made following the 2019 inspection. The published report provides very little specific detail on what inspectors actually saw, heard, or recorded, which means almost everything of practical value will need to come from your own visit.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
Let our analysis show you how The Mayfields Care Home, Norfolk measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.
In Their Own Words
How The Mayfields Care Home, Norfolk describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where thoughtful dementia care meets genuine family warmth
Compassionate Care in Norwich at The Mayfields Care Home
Finding the right care home means looking for somewhere that truly understands your loved one's needs. The Mayfields Care Home in Norwich brings together skilled dementia support with a genuinely welcoming atmosphere. Families describe a place where staff take time to know each resident personally, adapting their approach to help everyone feel comfortable and engaged.
Who they care for
The Mayfields provides specialist support for people with dementia, sensory impairments and physical disabilities. They care for adults both under and over 65.
The team here shows particular expertise in creating a supportive environment for residents with dementia. They handle potentially difficult situations thoughtfully, helping residents feel comfortable without making anyone feel singled out.
Management & ethos
Staff show real skill in supporting residents with dementia, managing challenging moments with tact and understanding. Families feel kept in the loop with regular updates and are welcomed warmly during visits. There's a sense that staff genuinely care about each resident's wellbeing, taking time to understand their preferences and needs.
The home & environment
The food here is home-cooked and tailored to individual needs, with staff providing gentle support during mealtimes when needed. Families consistently mention how clean and well-maintained everything is. The gardens and courtyard offer lovely outdoor spaces, while inside there's a strong programme of music and games that keeps residents engaged.
“If you're looking for somewhere in Norwich that combines professional dementia care with genuine warmth, The Mayfields offers both in a well-maintained, engaging environment.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
