Lilac Lodge & Lavender Cottage

What the ratings tell you

CQC rated every one of the five key questions Good here, so there is no weak spot in the published ratings.

For leadership (Well-led), it shares its Good rating with 107 of the 168 other care homes in Suffolk that CQC has rated.

Track record

Lilac Lodge & Lavender Cottage has been registered with CQC since December 2010, about 15 years.

CQC has published 2 overall ratings for it (2016–2017), starting at Requires improvement and improving to Good.

The rating is 8 years old. CQC decides when to return based on risk, so age alone is not a warning sign; still, ask who the manager is now.

Reports on record: 6, with the most recent dated 31 October 2017.

Ownership and company checks

Lilac Lodge & Lavender Cottage is run by Country Retirement & Nursing Homes Ltd (company 03790953), incorporated in 1999, 11 years before this service registered with CQC.

At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 8 active directors and there is no insolvency history.

Its registered business activity is residential care for older and disabled people.

Country Retirement & Nursing Homes Ltd runs 6 CQC-registered services across 3 council areas; 2 of the 4 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (50%), against 83% for the same mix of services across England.

3 of its services are in Suffolk.

It trades under the Kingsley Healthcare brand, which covers 41 services run by 17 registered providers.

Costs to expect

We estimate Lilac Lodge & Lavender Cottage at £1,350–£1,650 a week for residential care (dementia), based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £70k–£86k.

Ask what notice is given before a fee increase and what triggers one.

Council help is possible below £23,250 in savings: ask Suffolk Council for a free care needs assessment.

Choice nearby

There are 24 other care homes within 3 miles, 17 of them rated Good or Outstanding; the nearest is North Bay House, 0.9 miles away.

Every one of the 23 nearest rated care homes has a more recent rating than this one, so ask what has changed since its inspection.

It sits in Oulton Broad ward, classed by ONS as urban (further from a major town or city), among the 40% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB.

Within about a 10-minute walk there is a GP surgery (3 min), a pharmacy (3 min), a shop (3 min), a park (7 min), a bus stop (2 min) and a railway station (3 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.