Waterside Care Home

What families say

Based on 6 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
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2023-12-21 · Report published 2023-12-21 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the October 2023 inspection, representing an improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The published findings do not include specific observations about staffing numbers, falls management, medicines practices, or infection control. The improvement to Good does indicate that concerns identified at the earlier inspection were addressed. With 19 beds and a specialism in dementia and mental health, safe practice across the day and night is particularly important.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"An improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in Safety is genuinely reassuring, because it means the inspectors went back, looked hard, and found the home had made real changes. However, the published detail is thin. Good Practice research identifies night staffing as the point where safety most commonly slips in small residential homes, and agency reliance can undermine the consistency that people with dementia especially need. Because the published report does not specify night staffing ratios or agency usage, these are questions you need to ask directly. Cleanliness accounts for 24.3% of what drives positive family reviews, so walk the corridors and check bathrooms on your visit rather than relying on the report alone.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base (IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University, 2026) identifies night staffing ratios and agency staff reliance as the two areas where safety most frequently deteriorates in small residential dementia settings. A rating of Good is a starting point, not a reason to stop asking.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from the past two weeks. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency workers, and confirm how many staff are on duty overnight for 19 residents."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the October 2023 inspection. This domain covers care planning, dementia training, nutritional care, and healthcare access. The home lists dementia as a specialism alongside mental health conditions. The published summary does not include specific examples of care plan content, training programmes, GP access arrangements, or food quality observations.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Effectiveness means inspectors were satisfied with how the home plans and delivers care, but the published findings do not tell you what your parent's daily care would actually look like. Food quality drives 20.9% of positive family reviews, and dementia-specific care is mentioned by 12.7% of reviewers. Neither is described in detail here. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans should be treated as living documents reviewed regularly with family input, not documents completed on admission and filed away. Ask when care plans are reviewed and whether you would be invited to contribute.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that care plans function as living documents only when families are actively included in reviews. Homes that review plans at least quarterly and involve relatives show better outcomes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example of how a care plan is structured (with personal details removed) and ask the manager how often plans are reviewed and how families are involved in updating them."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the October 2023 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. The published findings do not include specific inspector observations of staff interactions, use of preferred names, or how staff respond to residents showing distress. No resident or family quotes are included in the published report.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of positive family reviews in our data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity together account for 55.2%. A Good rating in Caring is encouraging, but the absence of specific observations or quotes in this report means you cannot rely on the published findings alone to know what staff interactions look and feel like. The Good Practice evidence base emphasises that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people with advanced dementia. The best way to assess this is to visit at a time when staff are busy (a morning or a mealtime) and observe whether interactions are unhurried and whether staff address your parent by their preferred name.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies non-verbal warmth, including touch, eye contact, and unhurried pace, as among the strongest predictors of wellbeing for people with dementia who have limited verbal communication.","watch_out":"Arrive at a mealtime or during morning personal care. Watch whether staff knock before entering rooms, use preferred names, and move at the resident's pace rather than their own."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the October 2023 inspection. This domain covers activities, individual engagement, responsiveness to complaints, and end-of-life care. The published findings do not describe specific activity programmes, examples of individual engagement, or how the home meets the needs of residents who cannot join group sessions. No resident or family feedback on daily life is included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness for 27.1%. A Good rating is a positive signal, but the gap between a planned activity schedule and what actually happens day to day is one of the most common sources of family disappointment. The Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not sufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia, who need one-to-one engagement that draws on their personal history. With dementia as a listed specialism, this home should be able to describe its approach to individual engagement in detail. If the answer is mostly group activities, that is worth probing further.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and life-history approaches to individual engagement produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group activity programmes alone.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what happens for a resident who cannot leave their room or join a group session. How many hours of one-to-one engagement would your parent receive in a typical week, and who delivers it?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the October 2023 inspection. The home is run by Majestic Care Home Limited, with Mrs Louise Janet Hambleton as registered manager and Miss Lindsey Susan Yates as nominated individual. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good across every domain is a sign of effective leadership responding to previous findings. The published summary does not describe the manager's visibility, staff culture, or governance arrangements in specific detail.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews, and the improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is one of the most meaningful things this inspection tells you. Homes that improve across all five domains at once typically do so because a manager has built a stable, supported team and a culture where problems are identified and fixed. The Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory. The named registered manager and nominated individual provide clear accountability. Communication with families when things change accounts for 11.5% of positive reviews, so ask directly how the home would keep you informed.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review identifies leadership stability and staff empowerment as the two factors most strongly associated with sustained quality improvement in small care homes. A manager who has driven improvement from Requires Improvement to Good is a meaningful positive indicator.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether they plan to stay. Then ask how the home would contact you if your parent had a fall, a health change, or a difficult day."}

  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 specialises in supporting adults both under and over 65, with particular expertise in dementia care and mental health conditions. This means they're equipped to help younger people who need residential care, not just older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, Waterside provides specialist care tailored to individual needs. Their team understands the unique challenges that come with supporting someone through their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.