Abbey Court Care Home

What families say

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity58
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership35
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-03-20

• Is this home safe?

  Good
  The Safe domain was rated Good at the March 2019 inspection, indicating that basic safety requirements were being met. This covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home manages risk. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so the Good rating represents an improvement. No specific inspector observations, staffing numbers, or incident data are recorded in the published summary. The home has 76 beds and supports people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, which makes staffing consistency a particularly important factor.
  Verified by inspector

• Is the care effective?

  Good
  The Effective domain was rated Good at the March 2019 inspection. This covers training, care planning, access to healthcare, nutrition, and how well the home meets individual needs. For a home supporting people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, effectiveness requires staff who understand complex needs and care plans that are kept up to date. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, GP access, or food and nutrition is recorded in the published summary.
  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good
  The Caring domain was rated Good at the March 2019 inspection. This is the domain that most directly reflects whether staff are kind, whether your parent is treated with dignity, and whether individuality is respected. A Good rating here is the most meaningful single finding for families, as it indicates inspectors observed broadly positive staff interactions. However, the published summary contains no direct quotes from residents or relatives, no specific inspector observations, and no description of what caring practice looked like in practice at Abbey Court.
  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good
  The Responsive domain was rated Good at the March 2019 inspection. This covers whether the home tailors care to individual preferences, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether the home responds appropriately to complaints and changing needs. For a home of 76 beds with residents living with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, responsiveness requires genuine individual attention rather than a standard programme applied to everyone. No specific activity provision, complaint handling examples, or individual care outcomes are recorded in the published summary.
  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Requires improvement
  The Well-led domain was rated Requires Improvement at the March 2019 inspection, making it the only domain where the home did not achieve a Good rating. This means inspectors found that leadership and governance were not yet consistently effective. The published summary does not specify exactly what the concerns were: whether this related to audit systems, staff management, culture, or regulatory compliance. This rating was awarded at the same inspection where four other domains achieved Good, which suggests the improvement programme was incomplete rather than absent. The registered manager at the time of inspection was Ms Kerry Ann Craddock, with Mrs Natasha Southall as nominated individual.
  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

Section 03

What the evidence base says

The team at Abbey Court has experience supporting people with dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. They provide care for adults both under and over 65. For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialist support tailored to individual needs. The team understands the importance of creating a supportive environment for people at different stages of their dementia journey. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.