- Care home
Benslow Nursing Home
Assessment report published 29 July 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Our view of the service
About the service
Benslow Nursing Home is a 'care home' providing accommodation, personal and nursing care. It is registered to provide a service for up to 35 people. The service was supporting 28 people at the time of the visit.
Who the service is for
The service supports older people and people living with dementia across three floors and also provides nursing care. The service is adapted to meet the needs of people with impaired mobility and also has shared facilities so people can continue to live together.
Key findings
We carried out this assessment on 24 June 2026 and 06 July 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
On an exceptionally hot day we found improvements at that time were required to managing temperatures in the home and monitoring those who were vulnerable to heat. Peoples care needs were met by in a timely way, although improvements were being embedded to ensure staff were effectively deployed. The registered manager had developed a training plan to ensure enough staff with the skills and knowledge to support people were in place.
Systems were in place to keep people safe from the risks of neglect or abuse with staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities. Risks were assessed as people’s needs changed and in partnership with those people and representatives where necessary. Medicines were administered safely given safely, and managed, by staff who were trained to do so, with regular ongoing assessments of the competency to safely do so. A visiting professional said, “The staff are very welcoming. The RM is polite and professional. I respect these people. I know how hard their job is. I have no safeguarding concerns.”
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this is through the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were applied for correctly and monitored appropriately. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions, and they had choice, control, and freedom over their lives.
People’s care was initially assessed and then continually planned with them and their relative where appropriate. People said that any adjustments which could improve the quality of their life and enhance their outcomes were provided. People experienced an approach to planning and monitoring care that balanced risks with people’s wishes and preferences. Care plans were well written and captured key areas of people’s needs and risks. This included areas such as diabetes, mobility, nutritional needs, skin integrity and pressure area care, and emotional support. Staff worked as a team and with other health professionals such as GP’s nursing teams and dementia services to ensure peoples care was monitored and responded to when needed. One relative said, “[Persons] personal care is spot on.”
People were supported by a dedicated and caring team, who appeared passionate about the people they supported. Staff offered and promoted choices in a ways people understood and responded to positively. Staff spoke with a genuine affection about people and in doing so therefore acknowledged their individuality and respected their privacy and dignity. The staff team actively promoted people's independence, enabling them to live life as fully as possible. The management team had developed and embedded a culture of person-centred care, where that care provided met their needs, choices and preferences.
The registered manager and their team worked in an open and transparent culture where staff were encouraged to speak up and learn lessons to improve the care people received. The management team were supportive and approachable, the registered manager was visible in the service, for example visiting every person in the home when they arrived for their shift. Staff and people said the registered manager was approachable, supportive and they were able to listen to feedback constructively to improve the service. During this inspection we found the registered manager to be very open and transparent with feedback given, and they took immediate actions to make those required improvement.
People's experience of this service
People living at Benslow Nursing Home were able to verbally communicate with us, so we gathered people’s experience through discussions with people and relatives. We also corroborated our findings through observations of the care provided to people.
People told us they felt safe. A person told us, “I feel very safe here, it’s a quiet place, the staff are very attentive to the smallest thing and the way they care for me means I am safely looked after.” We saw positive and meaningful interactions with staff. People smiled when staff were present and appeared comfortable in their presence. One person said, “How would I not feel safe here, the staff are all so kind to me, I just love them all.” People had the right support with their medicines when they needed them.
People told us that overall staff were responsive to their needs and when they asked for assistance this was promptly responded to. However, people also said that mornings and weekends were more difficult due to staff also accommodating visitors and carrying out additional cleaning tasks in the kitchen.
People told us that staff were competent when providing care and felt confident in staff abilities to provide safe care. However, some areas of training were yet to be fully provided to staff.
People liked living in Benslow Nursing Home, they gave feedback that included comments such as ‘comfortable, homely and safe’. One person said, “It’s a lovely building, so bright and well looked after. I have all the things in my room from home that help me feel comfortable. Although, the garden could do with a spruce up, it’s a bit tired lately.”
People were encouraged to make choices, maintain independence and take part in activities and community opportunities that were meaningful to them.
We observed throughout the day, people were supported in a way that supported and respected their privacy, dignity, and independence. Call bells were answered in a timely way, and staff were attentive to people’s personal care needs. People had a positive experience of care, supported by kind staff who knew them well and responded to their needs in a compassionate and person‑centred way. Staff understood people’s individual communication styles, including body language, facial expressions and changes in presentation.
Staff sought consent before carrying out any tasks, and we saw where people did not want support at that time and staff respected that decision, returning later to offer once more.
We observed how people were encouraged to take part in activities as a social gathering or individually. During the visit, some chose to watch television, or spend time in the garden or their bedrooms. People told us they enjoyed the activities as this brought about a social and inclusive environment in the home. One person said, “The activities and things they do for us are good. I like the fact it brings us together for a while and means I get to talk to others and make friends.”