England

Chirnside HouseLancashire

Illustrative image. Photographs of this home have not yet been added.

Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Chirnside House

Abbeyfield Close, Lancaster, Lancashire, LA1 4NL

01524541720

Care Type

Residential Care

Inspection date

28 March 2023

Provider

Abbeyfield Lancaster Society Limited(The)

Beds

30 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 31 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 29 are rated higher by CQC, 2 are the same and none are lower.

10 of these nearby homes have been inspected more recently than this one.

Based on CQC ratings, updated 22 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

GoodMay 2016
GoodMay 2018
Requires ImprovementJun 2023

Rating dropped from Good to Requires Improvement in 2023.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

This is the only care home Abbeyfield Lancaster Society Limited(The) runs in England.

Average care home fees in the North West: £882 a week for residential care and £1,196 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

This home lists dementia care, which usually costs more than standard residential care. See dementia care home costs. NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply where someone's needs are primarily health needs.
How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Chirnside House

Chirnside House is a residential care home in Lancashire, offering older people a place where they can feel genuinely at home. The team there understands how much it means to families to find somewhere warm and welcoming for their loved ones, and that sense of care runs through everything they do. If you are exploring options in the Lancashire area, Chirnside House is worth getting to know.

This residential care home supports up to 30 older people and those living with dementia across two floors with private bedrooms and communal areas. At inspection, 19 people were using the service. Residents and families gave very positive feedback about the quality of care, reporting they felt safe and well looked after.

The service demonstrated particularly strong practice in infection prevention and control, going beyond standard requirements to protect people's safety.

However, the provider lacked adequate governance systems to monitor service performance and did not have robust recruitment procedures in place. Some systems had gaps or were outdated, and while new medicines administration processes were being introduced with pharmacist support, these had not yet been fully embedded. The registered manager showed commitment to learning from incidents and continuous improvement, and staff supported people with maximum choice and control, using the least restrictive approaches in line with their best interests.

Source: CQC inspection report, 13 June 2023

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder people

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service without nursing
Registered capacity: 30 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · LA1 4NL

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Dementia.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Requires improvement.

Rating report published 13 June 2023. Latest inspection date recorded: 28 March 2023.

Safe: Requires improvement
EffectivePublished 18 May 2018: Good
CaringPublished 18 May 2018: Good
ResponsivePublished 18 May 2018: Good
Well-led: Requires improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Chirnside House's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Chirnside House, consider asking...

1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Chirnside House, look out for...

1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Chirnside House's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees