Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Church End, Barley, Royston SG8 8JS
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9.9 109 Reviews
  • Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home, Royston
Margaret House residential and dementia care home is an independent, award winning family-run business.

Established in 1971, it offers long stay residential and dementia care as well as respite care, with either single or double rooms available.

Whether living in the beautiful, sympathetically converted former rectory or the purpose-built wing, the aim is the same - to provide a place that residents truly regard as their home.

Experienced, dedicated staff have a genuine care for, and understanding of, each individual resident’s needs, concerns or desires and that caring extends not only to residents but to their relatives as well.

Relatives and friends are always warmly welcome to join residents for lunch or dinner and to participate with them in any of the many varied activities and well being events that take place daily at Margaret House - where care means caring.

Care Provided by Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

  • Primary Care Categories
  • Dementia
  • Older Person Care
  • Physical Disability
  • Respite Care
  • Sensory Impairment
  • Care Types Provided
  • Dementia Residential Care
  • Residential Care
  • For a maximum of 43 Service Users
  • Privately Owned
  • Care Offered
  • Alzheimer's
  • Bariatric Care/Obesity
  • Cancer Care
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Colitis & Crohn's Disease
  • Hearing Impairment
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Orthopaedic
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Speech Impairment
  • Stroke
  • Visual Impairment
  • Other Care Provided
  • Convalescent Care
  • End of Life Care
  • Own GP if required
  • Palliative Care
  • Physiotherapy
  • Separate Specialist Dementia Care Unit

Good to Know

  • Owner
  • Thomas Kelly
  • Person in charge
  • Jacqueline Pope (Registered Manager)
  • Admission Criteria
    • Ages 65+
  • Room Information
    • Single Rooms (35)
    • Couples/Companion Rooms (4)
    • Single Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (7)
    • Couples/Companion Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (2)
  • Care Home Design/Build
    • Purpose Built: Yes
    • Year Purpose Built: 1996
    • Last Refurbishment: 2020
    • Number of floors: 2

Funding & Fees Guide for Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

  • Funding Types Accepted
  • Self funding (Private)
  • Local Authority with Top-Up
  • Local Authority
  • NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) Funding
  • Weekly Charges per Person
    • Self-Funded Residential Care £1,300 – £1,500
    • Self-Funded Residential Dementia Care £1,500 – £1,650
    • RESPITE Self-Funded Residential Care £1,600 – £1,800
    • RESPITE Self-Funded Residential Dementia Care £1,700 – £1,900
  • The fee charged depends on an individual assessment of need and the room chosen. It includes 24hr personalised care, all dietary requirements and our full wellbeing programme and activities.


  • (these prices are only a guideline, please contact Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home to find out the exact price for your requirements)

Facilities

  • Bar/Café
  • Close to Local shops
  • Gardens
  • Lift
  • Minibus or other transport
  • Own Furniture if required
  • Pet Friendly (or by arrangement)
  • Phone Point in own room
  • Residents Internet Access
  • Residents Kitchenette
  • Smoking not permitted
  • Stairlift
  • Television point in own room
  • Wheelchair Access
  • Visiting
  • Relatives and friends always welcome at any time at Margaret House.


  • Parking
  • There's parking spaces available for clients and visitors at Margaret House.


Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home Reviews (109)

Total of 109, showing 1-20
9.9

Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.861) out of 10, based on 12 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home has 109 reviews.

Overall Experience

  • 102
  • 5
  • 1
  • 0
  • 1

Date Published

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Dad has been at Margaret House since February of this year. We can't rate them highly enough. The management team made the move in seamless and the care teams have been wonderful with Dad.

Reply from Jackie Pope, Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

It is a pleasure to look after your dad, thank you so much for taking the time to complete this review which we will share with the team.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A wonderful home, everyone was so caring. The food, gardens and rooms were outstanding. Every person at Margaret House deserves 10/10 and we thank the whole team for caring for our mum.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are so pleased that you were happy with everything - your Mum is a wonderful lady! Thank you so much for your kind words which we will share with the team.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We thought everything was excellent. Would recommend it to anyone. Thank you.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

It was our absolute pleasure to look after your Mum whilst she had a short stay with us and we are very pleased that you would be happy to recommend us to others - thank you!


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am very pleased with the care, support and understanding for Dad and our family situation. Could not ask for more!

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are all very glad that you are happy with the care and support we provide and it is our pleasure to look after your Dad.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My mother has been at Margaret House for six months and the whole experience has been excellent. The accommodation and staff are brilliant, it is a lovely place to live. We chose the home because of the family atmosphere that radiates from staff and residents. The social calendar is full of events and
activities that Mum joins in with and she is having a new lease on life. The visiting system is great with no appointments required. We can just visit whenever passing. We are delighted and would highly recommend it.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are so glad that Mum enjoys our range of activities and she has certainly become part of the 'family' since coming to live at Margaret House! Thank you very much for taking the time to submit this review it is appreciated by us all.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The care received by Mum at Margaret House has been exceptional. It is an outstanding care home with amazing staff and management who always go the extra mile to help both residents and their relatives. Mum is very happy here and I cannot recommend this home enough.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you for submitting this review, we are delighted that you are so pleased with the care that we provide and that your mum is happy at Margaret House.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Margaret House was our only selected care facility for my mother-in-law. From our very first visit, we were welcomed by guests and staff. We were impressed by the overall family atmosphere which was the basis of the home. Facilities are excellent, the house itself being set in beautiful manicured grounds.
Activities are thoughtfully put together and enjoyed by all. My mother-in-law who is 93 years of age has flourished at Margaret House.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are very glad that you feel that Mum is doing so well at Margaret House, it is our pleasure to look after her. Thank you for taking the time to complete this review it is much appreciated by us all.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The staff at Margaret House have been excellent in looking after my aunt during her time at the care home. She was always very happy there and the facilities were first class. She always said, even during her final days, that she was very happy at Margaret House, and the staff always looked after her
every need.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

It has been our absolute pleasure to look after your aunt and we are so glad to hear that she was always happy here. Thank you for taking the time to submit this review, it is much appreciated.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Very good. Mum getting well.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you for taking the time to submit this review, we are glad that you feel that your mum is benefiting from living at Margaret House.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Margaret House provided wonderful care for my Dad over a period of 10 years. In particular, they were amazing at the end of life in the exceptional care, love and support they offered both to my Dad and me.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

It was our absolute pleasure to look after your Dad for so many years, and a privilege to be able to support you all as he came to the end of his life.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Moving a loved one into care was not an easy decision but we knew we had made the right choice with Margaret House. The staff are warm, friendly and welcoming. The home is lovely and set in wonderful gardens. My Mother-in-law loves the wide range of activities and the fact that her life is still sociable
with lots of companionship.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are so pleased that your Mother-in-Law has settled in so quickly and is enjoying taking part in lots of our different activities - both at the home and out in the community. Thank you very much for taking the time to send in this review it is much appreciated by all the team.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 3.0 out of 5

The care home has requested that I remove my wife on the grounds that they are unable to meet her needs after only six weeks. All her supporting props were removed. She was in unfamiliar surroundings without me or her cigarettes and alcohol and I do not know if she was given the tablets to ease her
anxiety. So it's a care home but not like her home and they couldn't meet her needs as she has dementia.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We were very sorry to see this review. We felt we explained before your wife came to stay that we are unable to accept very anti-social behaviour because of our duty of care to other residents. It was clear after the first week that your wife was exhibiting behaviours that you had not made us aware of & we discussed this with you but agreed to see if this would improve. However, it became apparent that these were pre-established behaviours which weren't going to change & after further discussions with you, we did have to ask your wife to leave. Prior to your wife joining us we asked you to bring items to personalise her room as ‘props’ but you chose not to do this, you also advised us that she had stopped smoking. Your wife was offered wine with her evening meal in line with your request. In summary, we feel that you were not completely honest about your wife’s condition and if you had been, we would have advised you initially that unfortunately we were not able to meet her needs.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am very happy living here. The staff are without exception very caring and look after us well. My son visits frequently and is very impressed with the accommodation and the care we receive. The food is good too! We also have a very good "Social and Well Being Calendar" and I enjoy many of the activities.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you so much for this lovely review. We are so glad that you are happy living here and that you enjoy lots of the activities


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Amazing care. Mum is very happy. The staff are excellent.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

We are so pleased to hear that Mum is very happy at Margaret House and your comments about the staff and the care that they provide are much appreciated.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Margaret House is an excellent care home. The staff are all totally professional and also very kind and caring. The service is personalised and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you so much for taking the time to submit this review, we all really appreciate this positive feedback.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Mum has now been at Margaret House for over a year. It's a very warm and welcoming environment and the staff are all really friendly and caring. Her bedroom feels like home. The staff know Mum well, including her needs and foibles. They are always popping in and out of rooms, checking on residents who
are not in the living rooms and often stopping for a chat. Despite her mobility issues, Mum has been taken out on visits, short walks in small groups or even alone. We often stroll in the gardens. I feel absolutely certain they are keeping a close eye on her and know her very well at this point. The moment they have a concern about her well-being they call me or the GP, keeping me completely in the loop. There are activities at least twice daily for those who wish to participate. Mum has particularly appreciated the culture clubs/supper clubs when she mixes with the residents from the other block and they have special dinners and films or entertainment.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you so much for this review. We are so glad that Mum particularly enjoys the Culture and Supper Clubs!


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Wonderful staff taking care of my mum. It is like home from home.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you so much for this review, it is our absolute pleasure to look after your mum and we are so glad that you feel that it is 'home from home'.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Very comfortable, residents looked after very well. Staff always pleasant and cheerful.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you for taking the time to submit this review, your comments are much appreciated.


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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Mum feels very much at home here - which is all that matters!

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Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Margaret House is a caring and well-organised home. The staff are always cheerful and accommodating.

Reply from Sam Adby, Home Services Manager at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

Thank you for taking the time to submit this review, your comments are much appreciated by all the team.


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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.861)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.861) out of 10 for Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 12 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Care Home is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.861 for Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home is calculated as follows: ( (131 Excellents x 5) + (7 Goods x 4) + (5 Satisfactorys x 3) + (1 Poors x 2) ) ÷ 144 Ratings = 4.861

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home is based on 11 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the registered maximum number of service users in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Care Home registered for a maximum of 50 service users has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 43 registered maximum number of service users is 8.6, which has been reached with 11 Positive reviews. Points = 1

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Care Home does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Performance

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating

Date: 5 Dec 2017

Overall
Good

  • Caring

    Good
  • Effective

    Good
  • Responsive

    Good
  • Safe

    Good
  • Well-led

    Good

Care Quality Commission is responsible for the registration and inspection of social care services in England.

View Latest Report

Bed Vacancies

Please Contact Us for Latest Vacancies

Awards / Recognitions (27)

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Meet the Team (6)

Gail

Gail Kelly

Job Title: Registered Manager

Joined: 2014

Hi, my name is Gail and I am the Registered Manager


Margaret House has been in my husband's family since 1971 and our ethos has always been that we treat every resident as if they were a beloved member of our own family.


I am proud to be part of the 2nd generation of the Kelly family managing our family run home. I take extremely seriously my responsibility for ensuring that we continue to provide the same care and attention to our residents that we always have in a warm, happy, safe and secure environment.


My team and I are here to answer any initial questions you may have and, should you choose Margaret House as your new home, to support and guide you through every step of the initial move to ensure that you are able to quickly and happily settle in. We are then all here for you and your family at every step in the future.


Jackie

Jackie Pope

Job Title: Registered Manager

Joined: 2023

Jackie has been working in care for over 35 years, starting her career working in the community, before moving to work in Care Homes. Her main priority is to ensure that all residents at Margaret House feel safe and exceptionally well cared for at all times.


Samantha

Samantha Adby

Job Title: Home Services Manager

Joined: 2014

Hi my name is Sam, I am the Home Services Manager and would be your contact for any enquiries you may have about Margaret House.


Having experienced first-hand a relative needing to move into full-time residential care, I understand how difficult the transition can be and am here to support you and your family throughout this time and to provide the information you need to enable you to make an informed decision.


John

John Pope

Job Title: Catering Manager

Joined: 2024

Hi, my name is John and I have over 27 years of experience as a Catering Manager within the hospitality industry and previously ran 3 successful ‘foodie’ pubs. I am responsible for devising a seasonally changing, nutritionally balanced and delicious menu, as well as special meals across the year showcasing different cuisines – such as our ‘Chinese New Year Banquet’, as well as catering for our very popular monthly themed ‘Supper Club’ Together with my team we are happy to provide personalised menus to meet any specific dietary requirements.


Lea-Ann

Lea-Ann Smith

Job Title: Social and Wellbeing Manager

Joined: 2014

Hello, my name is Lea-Ann and I'm the Social and Wellbeing Manager. I absolutely love my job and spend my time getting to know all our residents and planning and delivering a wide range of activities to promote the mental, physical and social well-being of all. But most of all, my team and I are here to ensure that residents continue to do the daily things they get most pleasure from, whether that is spending time 1-2-1 chatting over a cup of tea, helping with some gardening, visiting the local over 60's group, or taking part in a quiz or something else altogether.


I was a Finalist at the 2023 Great British Care Awards, a Finalist for the 2022 Herts Care Providers Care Team of the Year, a Winner of the Apetito Enhancing Health and Wellbeing Awards 2020, a Finalist in the Caring UK Awards 2019 and Winner of the 2018 Compassion in Care Award at the Herts Care Providers Awards


Hazel

Hazel White

Job Title: Housekeeping Manager

Joined: 2014

Hi, my name is Hazel. Together with my team, we ensure that the home is clean and tidy at all times. I have successfully overseen our move to a new environmentally friendly cleaning system, which uses Stabilised Aqueous Ozone (basically water and oxygen) that kills 99.999% of germs without the need for harmful chemicals. As an avid reader, I also run our very popular monthly book club for residents.


Frequently Asked Questions about Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home

What types of Care is Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home registered for?

Older Person Care, Dementia, Respite Care, Physical Disability & Sensory Impairment are the registered (by the Care Quality Commission) categories of Care.

What additional types of Care does Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home provide?

Palliative Care, Convalescent Care, Physiotherapy, Separate Specialist Dementia Care Unit, Own GP if required & End of Life Care are other types of care provided.

How many Rooms does Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home have?

There are 35 Single Rooms and 4 Couples/Companion Rooms.

What are the Facilities & Services at Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home?

Own Furniture if required, Pet Friendly (or by arrangement), Smoking not permitted, Close to Local shops, Minibus or other transport, Lift, Stairlift, Wheelchair Access, Gardens, Bar/Café, Residents Kitchenette, Phone Point in own room, Television point in own room & Residents Internet Access are some of the Facilities & Services.

How far is Margaret House Residential and Dementia Care Home to the centre of Royston?

3.0 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.