Harry Sotnick House Care Home
At a Glance
The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.
Nursing homes
Staff warmth score
of reviewers answered yes
Good to know
- Registered beds46
- SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Caring for adults under 65 yrs, Dementia, Physical disabilities, Sensory impairment
- Last inspected2022-06-16
The Evidence
What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.
What families say
The warmth here comes through in small moments. Staff create calm interactions that put both residents and visitors at ease, treating families with the same care they show residents. There's a genuine attentiveness that makes the difficult transition into nursing care feel less overwhelming.
The eight family priority themes
- Staff warmth52
- Compassion & dignity55
- Cleanliness55
- Activities & engagement50
- Food quality50
- Healthcare55
- Management & leadership42
- Resident happiness52
What inspectors found
Inspected 2022-06-16
Is this home safe?
Is the care effective?
The Effective domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, healthcare access, and food quality. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors will have considered whether dementia-specific training and care approaches are in place. No specific examples of care plan content, GP access arrangements, or mealtime observations are recorded in the available published text. The published summary is too brief to draw confident conclusions about day-to-day effectiveness.Is this home caring?
The Caring domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and support for independence. The Good rating indicates inspectors were broadly satisfied with how staff treat the people who live here. However, the published summary contains no direct observations of staff-resident interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific examples of how dignity or privacy are upheld in practice. The absence of this detail makes it harder to build a confident picture.Is the home responsive?
The Responsive domain was rated Good at the May 2022 inspection. Responsiveness covers whether activities are meaningful and tailored to individuals, whether complaints are handled well, and whether end-of-life care is person-centred. The home cares for people with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment, which means activity provision needs to reflect a wide range of abilities. No specific examples of activities, individual engagement, or end-of-life planning are recorded in the published summary.Is the home well-led?
The Well-led domain was rated Requires Improvement at the May 2022 inspection. This is the only domain that did not achieve a Good rating, and it is significant because leadership quality predicts the trajectory of everything else in a care home. A named registered manager, Michal Zakrzewski, was in post at the time of inspection. The published summary does not describe what specific concerns led to the Requires Improvement rating, which means the reasons are not available to families without requesting the full report. The overall rating of Good despite this domain suggests the other four domains were strong enough to outweigh the leadership concerns.
Source: CQC inspection report →
What the evidence base says
The home provides nursing care for both younger adults with physical disabilities and older residents, including those living with dementia. They also support people with sensory impairments, adapting their approach to ensure everyone can communicate their needs effectively. For residents with dementia, the ground-floor nursing units provide stable, familiar environments where routines can develop naturally. The consistent staffing helps residents recognise faces and build trust over time. All 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
Harry Sotnick House scores 68 out of 100. Four of five inspection domains were rated Good, which is a genuine improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating, but the Well-led domain remains Requires Improvement and the published report contains very little specific observational detail, which limits how confident we can be about day-to-day life for your parent.
Homes in South East typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
The warmth here comes through in small moments. Staff create calm interactions that put both residents and visitors at ease, treating families with the same care they show residents. There's a genuine attentiveness that makes the difficult transition into nursing care feel less overwhelming.
What inspectors have recorded
The nursing teams on the ground-floor units demonstrate the kind of oversight that matters — they know their residents well and maintain consistent care standards over extended stays. Communication with families staying in touch about long-term residents tends to work smoothly, though reaching the home by phone can sometimes take persistence.
How it sits against good practice
If you're looking at long-term nursing care options in Portsmouth, visiting Harry Sotnick House could help you picture whether it feels right for your family.
Worth a visit
Harry Sotnick House, run by Portsmouth City Council, was rated Good overall at its last inspection in May 2022, an improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. Four of the five inspection domains, covering safety, effectiveness, caring, and responsiveness, were all rated Good. The home cares for up to 46 people, including those living with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment. A named registered manager was in post at the time of inspection. The main concern is that the Well-led domain remained at Requires Improvement, and the published inspection summary contains very little specific observational detail across all domains. This makes it difficult to build a complete picture of daily life for your parent. When you visit, ask to speak with the registered manager directly about what the Requires Improvement rating in leadership means in practice, what has changed since the inspection, and what the home is doing to address it. The inspection findings are now over two years old, which adds further uncertainty.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
Let our analysis show you how Harry Sotnick House Care Home measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.
In Their Own Words
How Harry Sotnick House Care Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where long-term nursing residents find genuine comfort and dignity
Nursing home in Portsmouth: True Peace of Mind
For families seeking nursing care, Harry Sotnick House in Portsmouth offers something reassuring — a place where residents settle into comfortable routines with attentive support. This purpose-built home specialises in complex care needs, from dementia to physical disabilities, with ground-floor nursing units that families describe as maintaining real dignity over months and years.
Who they care for
The home provides nursing care for both younger adults with physical disabilities and older residents, including those living with dementia. They also support people with sensory impairments, adapting their approach to ensure everyone can communicate their needs effectively.
For residents with dementia, the ground-floor nursing units provide stable, familiar environments where routines can develop naturally. The consistent staffing helps residents recognise faces and build trust over time.
“If you're looking at long-term nursing care options in Portsmouth, visiting Harry Sotnick House could help you picture whether it feels right for your family.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
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
Harry Sotnick House scores 68 out of 100. Four of five inspection domains were rated Good, which is a genuine improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating, but the Well-led domain remains Requires Improvement and the published report contains very little specific observational detail, which limits how confident we can be about day-to-day life for your parent.
Homes in South East typically score 68–82.The three-lens summary
What families tell us
The warmth here comes through in small moments. Staff create calm interactions that put both residents and visitors at ease, treating families with the same care they show residents. There's a genuine attentiveness that makes the difficult transition into nursing care feel less overwhelming.
What inspectors have recorded
The nursing teams on the ground-floor units demonstrate the kind of oversight that matters — they know their residents well and maintain consistent care standards over extended stays. Communication with families staying in touch about long-term residents tends to work smoothly, though reaching the home by phone can sometimes take persistence.
How it sits against good practice
If you're looking at long-term nursing care options in Portsmouth, visiting Harry Sotnick House could help you picture whether it feels right for your family.
Worth a visit
Harry Sotnick House, run by Portsmouth City Council, was rated Good overall at its last inspection in May 2022, an improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating. Four of the five inspection domains, covering safety, effectiveness, caring, and responsiveness, were all rated Good. The home cares for up to 46 people, including those living with dementia, physical disabilities, and sensory impairment. A named registered manager was in post at the time of inspection. The main concern is that the Well-led domain remained at Requires Improvement, and the published inspection summary contains very little specific observational detail across all domains. This makes it difficult to build a complete picture of daily life for your parent. When you visit, ask to speak with the registered manager directly about what the Requires Improvement rating in leadership means in practice, what has changed since the inspection, and what the home is doing to address it. The inspection findings are now over two years old, which adds further uncertainty.
The three questions to ask when you visitSave this home. Compare it against your shortlist.
Let our analysis show you how Harry Sotnick House Care Home measures up against the other homes you’re considering. Free account.
In Their Own Words
How Harry Sotnick House Care Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.
Where long-term nursing residents find genuine comfort and dignity
Nursing home in Portsmouth: True Peace of Mind
For families seeking nursing care, Harry Sotnick House in Portsmouth offers something reassuring — a place where residents settle into comfortable routines with attentive support. This purpose-built home specialises in complex care needs, from dementia to physical disabilities, with ground-floor nursing units that families describe as maintaining real dignity over months and years.
Who they care for
The home provides nursing care for both younger adults with physical disabilities and older residents, including those living with dementia. They also support people with sensory impairments, adapting their approach to ensure everyone can communicate their needs effectively.
For residents with dementia, the ground-floor nursing units provide stable, familiar environments where routines can develop naturally. The consistent staffing helps residents recognise faces and build trust over time.
Management & ethos
The nursing teams on the ground-floor units demonstrate the kind of oversight that matters — they know their residents well and maintain consistent care standards over extended stays. Communication with families staying in touch about long-term residents tends to work smoothly, though reaching the home by phone can sometimes take persistence.
The home & environment
The home keeps impressively clean standards throughout — families consistently mention how spotless and well-maintained everything looks. Single-occupancy rooms give everyone their own space, and the building's wheelchair-accessible design means residents can move around freely. The kitchen shows real flexibility with dietary needs, adapting meals without fuss when residents have specific requirements.
“If you're looking at long-term nursing care options in Portsmouth, visiting Harry Sotnick House could help you picture whether it feels right for your family.”
DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.
