New build
staff more approachable, says Charlotte, adding that decisions about staffing levels, digital systems and new equipment are informed by “first-hand experience”.
Evidence-based decision-making Macc Care also positions itself as consciously “evidence-based”. For example, Charlotte describes how new equipment – from sluicing technology to therapy gym equipment is chosen only if it “adds measurable value” to safety, outcomes or staff time. It also means they prioritise involving
external partners, such as Nuffield Health physiotherapists and Birmingham City University in testing and research. Meanwhile, the group’s nearby consistently ‘high good’ CQC rated Blythe Rose complex dementia centre provides a reference point for design and practice across the group. This is a clear mandate for suppliers –
“nice-to-have isn’t enough” - products need to come with data, not just gloss. “Every single person here is asking: what
can we do to make things better? When that culture slips, we shouldn’t be working in this sector,” says Charlotte.
Meeting Changing Expectations Both Charlotte and Donna are acutely aware that their current and future residents – and their families – are “not the same customers” they were a decade ago. Charlotte says she has watched the shift
from passive recipients of care to informed consumers play out across several openings “Ten to fifteen years ago, families
arrived with limited information and few comparisons. Today, they come armed with “CQC reports, online reviews, social media posts and word-of-mouth endorsements, the
full gamut,” she says. She adds that many use “respite as a
deliberate trial,” fully intending to stay permanently if the fit is right, creating a “try before you buy” model. For providers this demands transparency
on fees and what is (and isn’t) included – Heathfield Rose’s dementia care rates, for instance, sit around “£1,400–£1,600 per week, and are clearly published, she says. It also means the home must provide a
consistently strong experience “from day one”, and not just once the home is “settled”., she adds, with highly “responsive communication” with families as circumstances evolve.
Life plans, not care plans Where Macc Care pushes further is in its language and practice around
Natural way-finding for dementia
CQC inspectors were sufficiently impressed with aspects of the design that they requested photographs for their own training, according to Donna. Key features include: n A floorplan in the shape of a small “h”, creating natural households rather than endless corridors.
n “Different-coloured bedroom doors” that correspond with the interior décor, helping residents recognise their room.
n “Subtle changes in colour, artwork and
texture” between sections, providing cues that you are moving from one area to another.
n “Minimal resident-facing signage”: labels such as “store room” are moved out of residents’ sightlines so they don’t generate confusion.
n The interior designer has created a series of “small, characterful snugs and lounges”, rather than a single large day room. Many wall coverings are “tactile”, inviting residents to touch and engage as they move through the home.
Charlotte (right) with visitor on Open Day
person-centred care. Charlotte says she wants the sector to retire the term “care plan”. “It’s a plan for my life,” she argues. “It’s
how ‘I’ want to live: when I wake up, how I go to bed, how many pillows I like, whether I want my ensuite light left on, if I like a drink by the bed.” Donna agrees: “If you picked up my
plan and yours, they should be completely different. If you’ve never looked after that resident before, you should be able to read their plan, go into their room and look after them exactly how they want.” For those living with dementia, this level
of detail is especially important, supporting the creation of “new routines and safe familiarity” in unfamiliar surroundings, says Donna.
End-of-life as a defining experience Donna’s specialist interest is palliative and end-of-life care. She has completed Level 6 training in applied palliative practice and talks about those final weeks with a mixture of clinical clarity and emotional weight. She recounts taking a “frail woman in
her 80s with advanced Parkinson’s” to her granddaughter’s wedding in Rugby, despite staff anxieties over “what if”. “She died four weeks later,” Donna says.
“But she got to that wedding. For me, that’s everything.” Charlotte frames this as a core part of the
home’s ethos: “You remember the birth of your child. You
also remember the death of a significant loved one. Our job is to make those memories – the last birthday, the last Christmas, the last trip out – as good as they can possibly be for the family left behind,” she says. In an age where family experiences are
instantly shared and reviewed, it’s easy to see why Macc Care views “end-of-life experience as reputationally critical”, not an afterthought.
Shifting local perceptions Both are keen to stress that Heathfield Rose is not intended to be a beautiful island, cut off from the local Shirley community, and list several examples of how they’re working to engage people living and working in the area. For instance, the home is sponsoring the
Shirley Carnival this month, and is using the opportunity to raise funds for two local charities – a breast cancer charity and Smiling Families. The group is also hosting networking
16
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com July 2026
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