Firtree House Nursing Home Ltd

What families say

Families talk about feeling genuinely welcome here, not just during scheduled visits but whenever they drop by. Staff seem to have that natural warmth that makes such a difference when you're visiting someone you love.

Based on 8 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness72
• Activities & engagement68
• Food quality68
• Healthcare72
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2018-08-01 · Report published 2018-08-01 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include specific observations about how safety is managed day to day, such as falls prevention, medicines management, or infection control practices. The home is registered for 35 beds across a range of specialisms including dementia and physical disabilities, which means robust safety systems are particularly important. No concerns were raised by inspectors, but the absence of published detail means the evidence base here is a confirmed rating rather than a richly described picture.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but our Good Practice evidence base highlights that night staffing is where safety most commonly slips in smaller nursing homes. For a 35-bed home caring for people with dementia and physical disabilities, you need to know exactly how many staff are on duty overnight and whether they are permanent employees or agency cover. The published report does not answer this. Research from the IFF and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review (61 studies, March 2026) found that agency reliance is one of the clearest early warning signs of declining safety, because unfamiliar staff do not know individual residents' routines or risk profiles. Ask the manager directly and check the answer against the actual rota.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that learning from incidents, specifically whether a home investigates falls and changes practice as a result, is one of the strongest markers distinguishing genuinely safe homes from those that merely avoid formal sanctions.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: how many carers and how many senior or nursing staff are on duty on a typical night shift for the 35 beds? Then ask to see the rota from last week to check whether those names are permanent staff or agency workers."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include specific detail about care planning, GP access, medicines management, or staff training in dementia care. The home's registered specialisms include dementia and mental health conditions, which require staff with specific skills and regularly reviewed, individualised care plans. No concerns were raised, but the report does not describe how effectiveness is achieved in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effectiveness in a dementia care context means your parent's care plan should read like a portrait of them as a person, recording their preferred name, their daily routines before moving in, what helps them feel calm, and what foods they enjoy. Our Good Practice evidence base is clear that care plans used as living documents, reviewed regularly and co-produced with families, are associated with better outcomes for people with dementia. Food quality is also a meaningful signal: 20.9% of the positive family reviews in our dataset specifically mention mealtimes, often describing them as the moment when genuine care shows through. The inspection report does not describe food, training content, or care plan quality here, so these are questions for your visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training content, particularly communication approaches and non-verbal interaction, is a stronger predictor of care quality than the number of training hours completed.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample anonymised care plan and check whether it records the person's preferred name, pre-admission routines, and meaningful activities, not just medical history and medication lists."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not include direct observations of staff interactions, quotes from residents or relatives about how they are treated, or descriptions of how dignity and privacy are upheld in practice. A Good rating means inspectors found no evidence of poor care, but without published observational detail this report cannot describe the texture of daily kindness in this home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of satisfaction in our family review data: 57.3% of positive reviews across 5,409 UK care homes mention it by name. Compassion and dignity come second at 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities; they show up in whether staff knock before entering a room, whether they use your parent's preferred name, and whether they sit down at eye level rather than talking from a standing position. The inspection did not record specific examples of these behaviours at Firtree House, so you will need to observe them yourself on a visit. The Good Practice evidence review confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with advanced dementia, so watch how staff approach residents who cannot easily communicate.","evidence_base":"Research in the Good Practice evidence base found that person-led care requires staff to know each individual's history and preferences in detail. Homes where staff can describe a resident's life before admission, not just their diagnosis, consistently score higher on dignity indicators.","watch_out":"During your visit, listen to how staff address residents in communal areas. Do they use the person's preferred name? Do they crouch or sit to speak to someone in a wheelchair rather than standing over them? These small behaviours are reliable indicators of a caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. The published report does not describe the activities programme, how the home responds to individual preferences, or how end-of-life care is approached. The home supports a diverse population including people with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, and sensory impairments, which means responsiveness to individual need is particularly important. No concerns were raised but specific evidence is absent from the published findings.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness accounts for 27.1% of positive family reviews in our dataset, and activities engagement accounts for 21.4%. What families describe valuing most is not a busy calendar of group events but evidence that their parent has something purposeful to do each day, tailored to what they can still do and enjoy. The Good Practice evidence review highlights Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks as particularly effective for people with dementia, because they offer a sense of contribution rather than passive entertainment. For a home supporting people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments alongside dementia, one-to-one engagement for those who cannot join groups is essential. The inspection report does not describe any of this for Firtree House, so ask directly.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that group-only activity programmes consistently fail to reach people with advanced dementia or significant physical limitations. Homes that invest in structured one-to-one engagement show measurably better wellbeing outcomes for the most dependent residents.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator (not the manager) what happened yesterday for a resident who cannot leave their room. If the answer is vague or deferred, that is a sign one-to-one engagement is not reliably happening."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Two registered managers are listed, Mr Yemansing Dinya and Mr Roshan Seedheeyan, alongside Mr Dinya as nominated individual. Having named, registered managers is a positive governance indicator. The published report does not describe how visible these managers are to residents and families, how staff are supported to raise concerns, or how the home monitors and improves quality over time. The previous rating listed in the provider data was not recorded, making trend analysis difficult.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Our Good Practice evidence base found that homes where managers are known by name to both residents and staff, and where staff feel able to speak up without fear, maintain quality more consistently than those where leadership is distant or frequently changing. Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family reviews in our dataset, with families specifically valuing managers who respond quickly when something goes wrong and who communicate proactively rather than waiting to be asked. The inspection confirms this domain is rated Good but does not describe how leadership operates in practice at Firtree House. Two registered managers covering a 35-bed home is an unusual arrangement worth exploring on your visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review identified bottom-up staff empowerment, specifically whether frontline care workers feel confident raising concerns, as a stronger predictor of sustained quality than formal governance processes alone.","watch_out":"Ask both managers how long they have each been in post, what their respective responsibilities are, and who is the named point of contact for a family concern raised at 6pm on a Friday. A clear, confident answer suggests genuine accountability; hesitation or redirection suggests it is worth probing further."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The home supports people with various needs including dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They care for both younger adults and those over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team brings experience in creating a supportive environment. Their approach focuses on maintaining dignity while providing the specialized care that dementia requires. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.