There Is Another Side to This Story
Voices from Families, Staff and Friends of Ingleside Care Home
Following recent media coverage regarding Ingleside Care Home in Weymouth, many families, former staff members and local residents have stepped forward to share a different perspective — one grounded not in headlines or regulatory terminology, but in lived experience.
For decades, Ingleside has been home to mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends and neighbours. While inspection reports and compliance frameworks are an essential part of modern care provision, relatives say their most enduring memories are not shaped by official language, but by compassion.
One daughter recalls how staff patiently fed her mother when she could no longer manage independently. Another family member describes the home as feeling less like an institution and more like a family house. A son shared that two members of staff attended his father’s funeral — a gesture, he said, that meant more than words could express.
Former employees have also spoken publicly in support of the home. One care worker with many years of experience described Ingleside as one of the happiest and most supportive workplaces she had known. Another said she would “return in a heartbeat.” A student who completed work experience at the home credits the team with inspiring her decision to pursue a career in healthcare.
Relatives of current residents describe loved ones who are settled, content and treated with warmth and dignity. Visitors frequently speak of a homely atmosphere and of staff who go above and beyond — often while working under considerable pressure.
No care setting is without challenges. Regulatory oversight exists for good reason, and where concerns are identified — particularly in relation to safeguarding or procedural compliance — they must be addressed thoroughly and transparently. Families acknowledge that inspection and accountability are essential to protecting vulnerable people, and that constructive criticism can, and should, lead to improvement.
However, supporters argue that context matters.
Care homes across the country are operating under extraordinary strain. Persistent staffing shortages, increasingly complex dementia and nursing needs, the emotional demands placed on carers, and rising regulatory expectations have combined to create one of the most challenging environments the sector has ever faced. Those who choose to work in care rarely do so for financial reward; they do so because they are committed to supporting others at their most vulnerable.
Many in the community have expressed concern that headlines can sometimes amplify the most alarming phrases within inspection reports, without reflecting the daily lived experience of residents and families.
Those speaking up are not dismissing the need for improvement where required. Rather, they are calling for balance — for recognition of decades of service and for acknowledgement that a care home’s identity cannot be reduced to a single report.
Christopher Webb, proprietor of Ingleside for forty years, said:
“For four decades our focus has been simple: to treat every resident with dignity, compassion and respect. We have supported families through some of the most difficult moments of their lives and we do not take that responsibility lightly. Where improvements are identified, we will address them. That is our duty. But the heart of this home has always been care, and that will never change.”
Families describe staff who know residents’ favourite meals and music. Teams who stay late to comfort someone in distress. Managers who maintain open communication with relatives. Carers who safeguard dignity during life’s most fragile stages.
For some families, Ingleside cared for their loved ones through their final months or years — a responsibility that leaves a lasting imprint.
As one supporter put it: those who know, know.
Regulatory findings will be addressed, as they must be. Improvements will be implemented, as they should be. That is how care services evolve and strengthen.
Yet behind every headline are human beings — residents who deserve stability, families who deserve reassurance, and staff who deserve fairness.
In a sector already grappling with recruitment difficulties and emotional burnout, many in the local community are urging kindness — not blind defence, but measured understanding.
The message from families is simple: judge the home not solely by a report, but by the lived experiences of those who have walked through its doors for years and entrusted it with the care of the people they love.
