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Longmead HouseSurrey

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Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Longmead House

1 Buxton Lane, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 5HG
01883340686
Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

25 June 2025

Provider

Bridget Catherina McAleese

Beds

23 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 42 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 35 are rated higher by CQC, 7 are the same and none are lower.

9 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

  1. GoodJun 2016
  2. GoodJun 2018
  3. InadequateSept 2023
  4. Requires ImprovementAug 2025

Improved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement in 2025. CQC has rated this home 4 times since 2016.

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 Bridget Catherina McAleese runs in England.

Average care home fees in the South East: £1,243 a week for residential care and £1,579 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 Longmead House

Longmead House is a residential care home in Surrey, providing care for older people. The findings below set out what the Care Quality Commission found on its most recent inspection.

Longmead House is a care home with nursing for up to 23 older people, including those living with dementia. The CQC found the service, previously in special measures after being rated inadequate, has improved and is now rated Requires Improvement overall, no longer inadequate in any area.

Inspectors found staffing, safety and medicines management had improved, and staff were kind and attentive, with better food quality since a new cook started. However, shortfalls remained around person-centred care, with limited meaningful activities or community involvement, and governance concerns as the provider lacked oversight of day-to-day running.

Source: CQC assessment, 18 August 2025

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
23 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked
Registered · CR3 5HG

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.

Assessment published 18 August 2025. Assessment date recorded: 25 June 2025.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 18 August 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment: 3 July 2025 to 15 July 2025.

Longmead House is a care home with nursing for up to 23 older people, including people living with dementia. There were 7 people living at the home at the beginning of our assessment and 11 people living at the home at the end of our assessment.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this assessment.

We carried out this assessment to follow up on action we had told the provider to take following our last inspection on 18 July 2023 when we rated the service inadequate.

The service has been in special measures since that date. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements.

At this assessment we found improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in special measures.

At our last inspection, the provider was in breach of legal regulations in relation to safety, safe recruitment, person-centredcare, and governance.

At this assessment, we found improvements had been made to safety and safe recruitment, and the provider was no longer in breach of these regulations. However, the provider remained in breach of regulations relating to person-centredcareand governance.

People did not have opportunities to take part in meaningful activities, to be involved in their local community, or to go out other than with their friends and families. This meant people’s lives lacked variety, stimulation and engagement.

The provider had invested in significant improvements to the fabric of the building since our last inspection, but was not involved in the day-to-day running of the service. This meant the provider did not have effective oversight of the service, or processes to ensure good governance was maintained in the manager’s absence.

There were enough trained and experienced staff on duty to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff kept the home clean and hygienic. People’s medicines were managed safely. Lessons were learned when incidents occurred, and learning was shared with staff. Staff understood their responsibility to recognise and report abuse, and knew how to do this.

The manager and staff listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff worked well together to ensure people’s needs were met. Staff supported one another well and that there was a good sense of teamwork at the home. The manager and staff worked well with other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people.

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

Questions prompted by these ratings

  • Responsive: How are care plans, activities and complaints adapted to each resident?
  • 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 Longmead 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 Longmead House, consider asking...

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

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

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

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

Could the NHS fund Longmead 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.

Location

1 Buxton Lane, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 5HG

CQC Logo

Longmead House

CQC overall rating

Requires Improvement

Assessment date: 25 June 2025

View full inspection report
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