






Balgowan House is a well-established nursing home located close to the centre of Saltwood village near Hythe in Kent. The building has been extended and refurbished (completed 2016) to provide warm, welcoming and comfortable accommodation for up to forty residents.
Balgowan House is able to offer single or shared occupancy with the option of en-suite facilities in accommodation provided over two floors with two lifts giving access to all areas.
Residents are...
Care Provided by Balgowan House
Primary Care Categories
- Older Person Care
- Dementia
- Physical Disability
- Visual / Hearing Impairment
Length of Stay
- Permanent Care
- Respite Care
Care Types Provided
- Residential Care
- Nursing Care
- Dementia Residential Care
- Dementia Nursing Care
- For a maximum of 40 Service Users
Dementia Care TypesMild Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "mild dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Memory problems such as misplacing items and not be able to recall recent events (however, in some forms of dementia a person's memory may be unchanged)
- Difficulties thinking through problems and planning, making decisions
- Language and communication issues such as finding it difficult to recall the appropriate word in a conversation or following a conversation
- Poor orientation, getting lost in areas previously familiar to them
- Difficulty judging distances (more falls than usual)
- Changes in their normal mood including anxiety and depression
- In certain types of dementia, personality and behaviour changes may be present alongside or instead of issues with memory or concentration.
Moderate Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "moderate dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Worsened memory problems. Not always recognising own family members and friends. Repeating the same questions over and over again
- Worsened language and communication issues, forgetting what they are saying mid-sentence. Not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- More frequent confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Advanced Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "severe dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Severe memory problems. Not recognising family members and friends. Not being able to recall their own name
- Severe language and communication issues, not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- Severe confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Verbally or physically aggressive behaviour
If your loved one displays this type of behaviour you may need a care home that has specially trained staff. Verbal/physical aggression is often defined:
- Consistent shouting and screaming
- Verbal abuse
- Physical abuse
How we define Dementia Care Types
Mild Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "mild dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Memory problems such as misplacing items and not be able to recall recent events (however, in some forms of dementia a person's memory may be unchanged)
- Difficulties thinking through problems and planning, making decisions
- Language and communication issues such as finding it difficult to recall the appropriate word in a conversation or following a conversation
- Poor orientation, getting lost in areas previously familiar to them
- Difficulty judging distances (more falls than usual)
- Changes in their normal mood including anxiety and depression
- In certain types of dementia, personality and behaviour changes may be present alongside or instead of issues with memory or concentration.
Moderate Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "moderate dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Worsened memory problems. Not always recognising own family members and friends. Repeating the same questions over and over again
- Worsened language and communication issues, forgetting what they are saying mid-sentence. Not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- More frequent confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Advanced Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "severe dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Severe memory problems. Not recognising family members and friends. Not being able to recall their own name
- Severe language and communication issues, not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- Severe confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Verbally or physically aggressive behaviour
If your loved one displays this type of behaviour you may need a care home that has specially trained staff. Verbal/physical aggression is often defined:
- Consistent shouting and screaming
- Verbal abuse
- Physical abuse
How we define Dementia Care Types
- Mild Dementia
- Moderate Dementia
Other Care Provided
- Parkinson's Disease
- Stroke
- Palliative / End of Life Care
- Convalescent Care
Facilities
- Own Furniture if required
- Close to Local shops
- Near Public Transport
- Lift
- Wheelchair Access
- Gardens
- Phone Point in own room
- Television point in own room
- Residents Internet Access
Funding & Fees
Weekly Charges per Person
All fees are dependent on care needs assessment.
The price(s) shown are provided by the care home. Contact Balgowan House for full pricing details and T&Cs.
Contact Balgowan House to confirm what's included and get a personalised quote:
Funding Types Accepted
- Self-Funding (Private)
- Local Authority with Top-up
- Local Authority
- NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
Support you may be entitled to
- If you chose a care home based in England, you may be eligible for NHS Funded Nursing Care (FNC), which helps cover the cost of nursing. This is worth £267.68 per week and is usually paid directly to the care home.
Good to Know
Group / Owner
- Integrum Care Group
- Private Owned
Person in charge
- Ann-Marie Miles (Manager)
Local Authority / Social Services
Admission Information
- Mixed (no single-gender units)
- Ages 50+
Care Home Design/Build
- Purpose Built: No
- Last Refurbishment: 2025
- Number of floors: 1
Room Information
- Single Rooms (34)
- Couples/Companion Rooms (3)
- Single Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (14)
- Couples/Companion Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (1)
Visiting
- Balgowan House welcomes visitors at any time.
Parking
- Parking is available in the car park as well as unrestricted parking in Bartholomew Lane.
Balgowan House Reviews (84)
Balgowan House has a Review Score of 9.7 (9.681) out of 10, based on 22 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Balgowan House has 84 reviews.
Couldn't rate the care given in this facility more highly - excellent treatment given in all areas by all staff. The home has a very warm, open and friendly atmosphere, the staff are excellent and even when faced with difficult situations they remain very professional and caring. The emphasis of 'care' given here is evident, the staff are warm and treat the residents with lots of dignity.
Our mum spent her last five months in Balgowan House and our whole family are so pleased we chose this nursing home. The care she has been shown is truly amazing. Nothing has been too much trouble. Sadly, she was practically paralysed so her needs were very high, but at all times she has been treated with dignity, care and love. We visited several homes before Balgowan; as soon as we walked in we knew this was the best: the warmth, openness and smiles of the staff have it standing far above the others we viewed. The ethos of Balgowan is care, and this starts with the astonishing manager. She has never been too busy for a chat, has ceaselessly supported us throughout our mum's stay, with advice, kindness and discretion. And I have to say this has been the case with all of her wonderful team; they became like family to us on our many visits and they all helped make a very difficult situation not only bearable but pleasant. We will miss them all, as well as missing our mum. Thank you.
My husband has late stage Alzheimers and has never been treated without anything except kindness, care and dignity, The manager is excellent, and her staff are just the same - nothing is too much trouble. My husband was not aware that it was his birthday but every member of staff (even though they did not know we were visiting) from manager to cleaner came into his room with a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday, and when we arrived he had birthday banners up in his room. Nothing is too much trouble and there is always time for a chat, a cup of coffee and a cuddle when everything all becomes too much to bear for myself and my daughters. I would have no hesitation in recommending Balgowan House.
"This is a nice place, I have a lovely big room, comfy bed and chair and my own TV; the staff are friendly and caring and the food is excellent". This was the entry in our Mum's diary for the day in July after she went to Balgowan for respite. She decided to stay and was very happy there. Unfortunately her recurring illness got the better of her and she passed away in October. During the time she was there the care she received was exceptional; nothing was too much trouble, and also to members of the family when they visited. My memory of Mum's time at Balgowan was sitting with her in the newly refurbished lounge, helping with her puzzle, listening to soft music, enjoying a mug of tea and an excellent Home Made chocolate eclair.
Regulatory Rating
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating
Date: 16 January 2020Good
- CaringGood
- EffectiveGood
- ResponsiveGood
- SafeGood
- Well-ledGood
Inspection ratings
We rate most services according to how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led they are, using four levels:
- Outstanding - The service is performing exceptionally well.
- Good - The service is performing well and meeting our expectations.
- Requires Improvement - The service isn't performing as well as it should and we have told the service how it must improve.
- Inadequate - The service is performing badly and we've taken action against the person or organisation that runs it.
- Not rated - we have not yet rated this area of the service, this is normally because the assessments we have carried out have been focused on other key questions.
Bed Vacancies
Please contact us for latest vacancies.
News (0) & Events (0)
There are no news items for Balgowan House.
There are no upcoming events for Balgowan House.
Awards / Recognitions (0)
There are currently no awards/recognitions posted yet for Balgowan House.
Accreditations
There are no accreditations posted yet for Balgowan House.
Meet the Team (5)

I qualified as a State Enrolled Nurse in 1983 and later as a Registered General Nurse in 2002, gaining both clinical and management experience within the NHS in both hospital and district nursing environments.
I was appointed to the position of Registered Home Manager of Balgowan House in May 2018 having previously been Registered Manager at another Kent care home.
My time at Balgowan has been incredible and have an amazing team and wonderful residents.

Lynne started her career in care here at Balgowan House in 2013 as a carer.
In 2017, Lynne left to work at William Harvey Hospital as an HCA on the Acute Medical Unit. After 2 years in the Trust, Lynne went on to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse and qualified in 2021. Lynne continued to work on the Acute Medical Unit at William Harvey Hospital until 2024.
Lynne enjoyed her years spent at Balgowan House before going on to pursue her nursing career, so when the opportunity arose to return to Balgowan as a registered nurse, Lynne was excited to rejoin the team and continue her career.
In April 2026, Lynne became the Deputy Manager here at Balgowan and enjoys working closely with her colleagues to help lead and support the home, ensuring residents and their families receive the highest standards of care and support.

Cassie Williamson started a BTEC National Diploma in Health Studies in 1997, she worked in various roles before joining Balgowan House in March 2000 as a Health Care Assistant (NVQ 3). Cassie very much enjoyed the role and remained in the post for 15 years. In 2015 the Home Manager introduced a new administration role and she was quickly identified as the perfect candidate.
Cassie is a major support to the Home Manager and everything she does is integral to the day-to-day running of the home. The role is extremely busy, but Cassie enjoys the challenges and variety each day brings. Cassie may now be doing the admin work, but she still spends time interacting with the residents and getting involved in the home’s activities and events. She is a very valued member of the Balgowan team.

Mo is the activities Coordinator for Balgowan House.
She ensures that every resident has interaction and activities each day.
All residents are considered when activities are planned - from arts and crafts to music to events.
Outside entertainers are a regular feature here at Balgowan and family and friends are always welcome.

Cathy has worked for Integrum since 2012, first at Saltwood full time, then here at Balgowan full time. She also is bank Chef between all 3 homes as and when required.
Bev has worked for Balgowan since 2016, first as a carer sometimes helping with the cooking, now just cooking part time!
They pride themselves on cooking, fresh home cooked food for the residents.
Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of carehome.co.uk. Please contact Balgowan House to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Balgowan House has an Enhanced Service -more info.