Centrum Care Homes – The White House

What families say

People describe feeling immediately at ease when they visit, noting how staff members take time to create a welcoming atmosphere. The team's compassionate approach comes through in the way they interact with both residents and families.

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2021-07-22 · Report published 2021-07-22 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the May 2021 inspection, representing an improvement from the home's previous Requires Improvement rating. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and safeguarding. The available report text does not reproduce specific inspector observations about how these areas were assessed. The improvement from a previous lower rating suggests the home has addressed whatever safety concerns were identified previously. No concerns about unsafe practice are recorded in the available text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating after a period of Requires Improvement is genuinely reassuring u2014 it means inspectors looked specifically for what was wrong before and found it had been corrected. For your mum or dad, that matters most in the areas you cannot easily see yourself: how medicines are stored and given, how falls are recorded and acted on, and what happens at night when there are fewer staff around. The Good Practice evidence base consistently finds that night staffing is where safety most often slips in smaller residential homes u2014 a 22-bed home like this one will have limited staff after 8pm, and it is worth understanding exactly how many and whether they are permanent or agency. Our family review data shows that 14% of positive reviews specifically mention staff attentiveness, suggesting families notice u2014 and value u2014 when staff are present and responsive.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most consistent risk factors in dementia care settings, particularly at night, because continuity of relationship is central to safe, personalised support.","watch_out":"Ask the home: 'How many staff are on duty overnight, and are they permanent members of the team or agency workers?' If the answer involves regular agency cover, ask how the home ensures those staff know your parent's individual needs and routines."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the May 2021 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right training, whether care plans are kept up to date and reflect individual needs, how the home supports people's health (including GP and specialist access), and nutrition and hydration. The White House lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors would have looked at dementia-specific training and practice. No specific detail about training content, care plan examples, or health monitoring processes is reproduced in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your mum or dad, 'Effective' is really asking: do the staff know what they are doing, and does the home understand your parent as an individual rather than as a set of tasks to complete? A Good rating gives confidence that the basics are in place u2014 care plans exist, training happens, health needs are monitored u2014 but the detail matters enormously in dementia care. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans need to function as living documents, updated as a person's needs change, not filed away after admission. Our family review data shows that 12.7% of positive reviews specifically mention dementia-specific care quality, suggesting families can tell the difference between a home that goes through the motions and one that truly understands dementia. On your visit, ask to see an example of how the home would involve you in reviewing your parent's care plan.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett evidence review found that in effective dementia care settings, care plans are reviewed collaboratively with families at least quarterly and updated in response to changes in behaviour or health u2014 not only at set intervals.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How often would my parent's care plan be reviewed, and would I be invited to take part in that review?' A good home will describe a process that involves you, not just staff, and will be able to tell you what triggers an unscheduled review between regular dates."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the May 2021 inspection. This is the domain that most directly reflects how staff treat your parent day to day u2014 their warmth, their respect for dignity and privacy, and whether they treat people as individuals. The available report text does not reproduce specific observations of staff interactions, resident testimony, or family feedback about the quality of care. The Good rating suggests inspectors were satisfied with what they observed, but without specific quotes or examples it is not possible to characterise the nature of those interactions in detail.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single highest-weighted theme in our family review data u2014 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes mention it u2014 which tells you it is the thing families notice and value above everything else. Compassion and dignity follow closely at 55.2%. A Good Caring rating is a solid baseline, but what families in our data describe goes beyond compliance: they notice whether staff use their parent's preferred name without being reminded, whether they speak to their parent rather than over them, and whether the pace feels unhurried. The Good Practice evidence base emphasises that for people living with dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 tone of voice, body language, facial expression u2014 often matters more than words. You cannot assess this from a report; you can only assess it by watching.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett evidence review found that person-centred care in dementia settings is most reliably indicated by staff knowing and using biographical detail u2014 a person's history, preferences, and identity u2014 in their day-to-day interactions, not only in formal care plan documentation.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch what happens in a corridor or communal space when a member of staff passes your parent: do they stop, make eye contact, use their name, and speak directly to them? Or do they walk past? That five-second interaction tells you more about the culture of a home than any formal assessment."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the May 2021 inspection. This covers whether the home tailors its care and daily life to individual needs and preferences, including activities, mealtimes, communication, and end-of-life care. The home lists dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment as specialisms, meaning inspectors would have considered how well the home responds to a diverse range of needs. No specific detail about the activity programme, individual engagement approaches, or end-of-life planning is reproduced in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your mum or dad, responsiveness is the difference between existing in a home and having a life in one. Our family review data shows resident happiness is weighted at 27.1% and activities at 21.4% u2014 families want to know their parent is engaged, stimulated, and treated as a person with preferences, not just needs. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with advanced dementia: one-to-one engagement, and activities that draw on a person's lifelong interests and skills, are more meaningful and more effective at reducing distress. At 22 beds, The White House is a small home u2014 which can be a real advantage, because staff have fewer people to get to know and are more likely to notice when someone is having a difficult day.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and interest-led activity approaches u2014 including everyday household tasks u2014 produce significantly better engagement outcomes for people with dementia than timetabled group activities alone, particularly for people who can no longer participate in group settings.","watch_out":"Ask: 'What would happen on a Tuesday afternoon for someone who can't join a group activity u2014 perhaps because they're tired, or because their dementia means group settings feel overwhelming?' A home with genuine responsiveness will describe a specific, individualised alternative u2014 not just say 'we'd check on them.'"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the May 2021 inspection, and the home has a named Registered Manager (Mrs Tracey Ann Bowen) and a Nominated Individual (Mr Mehul Pravin Shah) recorded at the time of inspection. The improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating across all five domains indicates that the leadership team has driven meaningful improvement, which inspectors assessed as meeting the Good standard. No specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, governance processes, or complaint handling is reproduced in the available report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in a care home u2014 the Good Practice evidence base is unambiguous on this. A manager who knows the staff, knows the residents, and is visible on the floor creates a culture that families feel even if they cannot name it. The fact that The White House has recovered from Requires Improvement to Good suggests the current leadership has done something right. However, inspection reports are a snapshot, and the May 2021 assessment is now several years old u2014 it is worth asking whether the same manager is still in post, and how long they have been there. Our family review data shows that 11.5% of positive reviews specifically mention communication with families, which means it is something families actively notice and report when it goes well.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett evidence review found that leadership tenure is one of the most consistent predictors of care quality trajectory: homes where the registered manager has been in post for more than two years consistently outperform those with frequent management changes, even where formal ratings are similar.","watch_out":"Ask: 'How long has the current registered manager been in post, and are there any planned leadership changes?' If the manager who drove the improvement from Requires Improvement to Good has since left, that changes the picture u2014 and it is something the inspection report cannot tell you."}

  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 White House supports people with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They care for adults both under and over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on The home's approach to dementia care has caught the attention of at least one professional visitor with experience of other care settings. While specific details aren't widely discussed, this suggests they're doing something right in this crucial area. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.