Down House

277 Tavistock Road, Derriford, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 8AA

01752789393

Care Type

Nursing Care

Assessment date

14 August 2024

Provider

Down House Limited

Beds

49 beds

About Down House

Down House is a nursing home in Plymouth, providing nursing and dementia care to older people. Details of the CQC's most recent findings are set out below.

Down House, in the Derriford area of north Plymouth, provides nursing and dementia care to older people, with capacity for up to 49 people. The CQC's assessment followed concerns raised over the previous year, and the home remains rated Good overall.

Inspectors found people felt safe, risks were well managed, and staff were kind, well trained and respectful. However, some relatives and staff felt staffing levels were stretched, care plans were not always up to date, people were not always involved in planning their care, and there was limited use of communal spaces or stimulating activity.

Source: CQC assessment, 17 March 2025

Specialist Care

DementiaLearning disabilitiesOlder peoplePhysical disabilitiesSensory impairmentsYounger adults

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 with nursing
Registered capacity: 49 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · PL6 8AA

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Dementia; Learning disabilities; Physical disabilities; Sensory impairment.

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: Good.

Assessment published 17 March 2025. Assessment date recorded: 14 August 2024.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 17 March 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment: 28 August to 13 September 2024. The assessment was carried out following incidents and concerns that had been raised about the service, over the previous 12 months. We assessed 14 quality statements from the key questions of Safe, Effective, and Well Led. The scores for these areas have been combined with scores based on the key question ratings from the last inspection when the service was rated good. Our assessment of the quality statements covered in this assessment indicated areas of good practice, and some where improvement was required. Our overall rating for the service remains good. Down House provides care and support to older people in a care home setting where people require continuous support and monitoring. Most people are assessed as requiring nursing care and some people have significant dementia care needs. This converted building has been extended and refurbished over time, with some parts being newer and in better condition than others. The service is registered to provide a service for up to 49 people. We visited the service in the Derriford area of north Plymouth, on 28 August and 9 September 2024. At the time of our assessment 34 people were receiving a service, and most were receiving assessed nursing care.

Safe: Good
Effective: Requires Improvement
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-led: Good

Questions prompted by these ratings

Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?

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

Read Down 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 Down 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 Down 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 Down 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