
She is very happy here, the staff go above and beyond to meet her needs.June C(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The staff are very friendly and helpful and chatty with my husband.Rosemary H(Wife of Resident/Service User)


She is very happy here, the staff go above and beyond to meet her needs.June C(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The staff are very friendly and helpful and chatty with my husband.Rosemary H(Wife of Resident/Service User)


Located in the oldest Anglo-Saxon town in England, Ipswich in Suffolk, Handford House takes a holistic approach to providing outstanding care to residents with nursing, respite, dementia, or palliative care needs.
The passionate team take pride in providing warm, welcoming and friendly care, embodying the ethos of dignity and respect for residents at all times.
The home is specifically designed to provide a comfortable, accessible and safe respite for residents....
Care Provided by Handford House
Primary Care Categories
- Older Person Care
- Dementia
- Physical Disability
- Younger Adults
Length of Stay
- Permanent Care
- Respite Care
Care Types Provided
- Residential Care
- Nursing Care
- Dementia Residential Care
- Dementia Nursing Care
- For a maximum of 52 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
- Advanced/Complex Dementia
Other Care Provided
- Palliative / End of Life Care
- Day Care
Facilities
- Own Furniture if required
- Close to Local shops
- Near Public Transport
- Minibus or other transport
- Lift
- Wheelchair Access
- Gardens
- Television point in own room
- Residents Internet Access
Funding & Fees
Weekly Charges per Person
The price(s) shown are provided by the care home. Contact Handford House for full pricing details and T&Cs.
Contact Handford 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
- Healthcare Homes Group Ltd
- Private Owned
Person in charge
- Agnieszka McDonald(Home Manager)
Local Authority / Social Services
Admission Information
- Ages 50+
Care Home Design/Build
- Purpose Built: Yes
Room Information
- Single Rooms (52)
- Single Rooms with ensuite Wet Room (32)
Handford House Reviews (84)
Handford House has a Review Score of 8.7 (8.665) out of 10, based on 20 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Handford House has 84 reviews.
The staff have been wonderful to my mother as she was in a very bad state having being sent there from hospital. The activities used to be wonderful when she first arrived and they were organised by a staff member who later left. Since then, there has not been much. I come three days a week and feel activities could be improved.
Activities that happened recently are Sports Days every Thursday with a...
She has learning disabilities, which the home were not used to, but they had no hesitation in taking her in. The staff and management have been totally supportive of her and she is so happy to be a resident at this care home. Great service.
My mum has been at Handford House since March 2015 following 3 months in hospital. It was difficult to find a home that would meet mums needs of both nursing and dementia care. Most homes seem to address one or the other.
As a family we had concerns about mum having to go into nursing care as she had been living independently prior to her stay in hospital. After a short period of being unsettled which was fully expected and explained to us by the Manager, mum soon settled in very well.
The staff are good and many are exceptional. They treat every resident as an individual with care and dignity. Mum has early stages of dementia and the staff make her feel as if she is part of their bigger family. Mum has a wicked sense of humour and the staff recognise this and encourage her to spend as much time as she wants with both staff and other residents.
The food is very good and if there is nothing on the menu that mum wants they are happy to make something different for her.
Bedrooms and communal areas are kept very clean and there are rooms designated for activities and relaxation. One even has a little bar area where residents can socialise.
We, as a family, visit mum everyday and I can honestly say we are made to feel very welcome. Mum now sees Handford House as her home and is very happy there.
My mother moved to Handford House early April 2015 after spending 6 weeks in Ipswich hospital where she was being treated for a very serious stroke. She needed 24 hour care. She couldn't do anything for herself and could only communicate in a very basic manner. Most days when visiting we were unsure whether she was aware of us being there or not. However all the staff at Handford house, whatever their position, treated mum with great care and respect, as if she was fully aware and involved in day to day life. So much so that one day when we were visiting, she managed to say just one thing, and that was, "They make a fuss of me here" Sadly she died peacefully in the early hours of June 30th. I would say that everyone at Handford House made mum's last weeks as good as they could be.
Regulatory Rating
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating
Date: 19 March 2025Good
- CaringGood
- EffectiveGood
- ResponsiveGood
- SafeGood
- Well-ledRequires improvement
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 (8) & Events (0)
- 04 Dec 2025
Residents at Handford House, a care home in Ipswich, received a handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough. The 99-year-old broadcaster replied after residents wrote to him, sharing how much they...
- 04 Dec 2025
Residents at Handford House, a care home in Ipswich, received a handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough. The 99-year-old broadcaster replied after residents wrote to him, sharing how much they...
- 13 Nov 2024
Handford House is thrilled to announce the appointment of Renata Sulugiuc as the new Home Manager. With over 14 years of experience as a registered nurse and a strong background...
There are no upcoming events for Handford House.
Awards / Recognitions (11)
- 07 May 2026Recipient: Handford House
- 30 Jan 2026Recipient: Healthcare Homes Group Ltd
- 31 Jan 2025Recipient: Healthcare Homes Group Ltd
Accreditations
There are no accreditations posted yet for Handford House.
Meet the Team (4)

I’m passionate about building meaningful relationships with residents and their families, and creating a warm, safe, and supportive environment where everyone feels valued. I take pride in making a positive difference each day by bringing comfort, dignity, and moments of joy to residents’ lives, while supporting their overall well-being. I hold an NVQ Level 3 qualification and am committed to delivering high-quality care at Handford House.

I enjoy the sense of achievement that comes from interacting with residents and getting to know each of them personally. I like to involve residents in decision-making and conversations, and I’ve already introduced activities such as hand and nail care, quizzes, and games of dominoes. I also take time to speak with families to better understand each resident’s needs and interests. I hold a Diploma in Dementia Awareness and a GNVQ Level 2 in Customer Service, which supports me in providing thoughtful and engaging care.

I enjoy the daily interaction with staff, residents, and their families in such a warm and inviting atmosphere. I always greet everyone with a friendly smile, helping to create a welcoming environment where residents and visitors feel at ease.

Creating a warm and welcoming environment is what I love most about Handford House. I enjoy building strong relationships with residents and their families, helping to ensure everyone feels valued, supported, and cared for.
As a Registered Nurse with 11 years of experience, I am passionate about delivering high-quality, person-centred care. I have a particular interest in supporting people living with dementia and helping to enhance residents' wellbeing, dignity, and quality of life.
My background includes roles within the NHS and as a Clinical Lead in Neurological Rehabilitation and Complex Care Management, providing me with extensive experience in supporting people with a wide range of care needs.
Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of carehome.co.uk. Please contact Handford House to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Handford House has an Enhanced Service -more info.