The Firs

What families say

Families talk about how staff go out of their way to make visiting relatives feel welcome and comfortable. It's the kind of place where staff take time to chat with visitors, keeping them updated and making sure they feel part of their loved one's care journey.

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
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership74
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-07-07 · Report published 2022-07-07 · Inspected 7 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Firs was rated Good for safety at its June 2022 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied with how the home managed risks, medicines, and staffing at that time. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so this represents genuine progress. No specific observations about falls management, infection control, or night staffing were included in the published text. The home is a small site with 22 beds, which can support more consistent staff familiarity with residents.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating after a previous Requires Improvement is encouraging, but it is the detail behind the rating that matters most for your parent. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most likely to slip, particularly in smaller homes where resources can be stretched. The published findings do not tell you how many staff are on after 8pm, or how the home logs and learns from falls. Cleanliness accounts for 24.3% of what families mention in positive reviews, yet the inspection text contains no description of the environment. You will need to assess these things yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance is one of the most consistent predictors of safety lapses in residential dementia care, because consistency of face-to-face relationships is central to recognising when something is wrong with a person who may not be able to report it themselves.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota from last week, not a template. Count how many permanent staff were on overnight compared with agency workers, and ask what the procedure is if someone falls during the night shift."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Firs was rated Good for Effective at its June 2022 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, healthcare access, nutrition, and how well the home meets the clinical and personal needs of residents. The home specialises in dementia care, so inspectors would have considered whether training and practice reflected that specialism. No specific detail about training content, GP access arrangements, or how care plans are written and reviewed was included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating in Effective means inspectors were broadly satisfied that staff knew what they were doing and that care plans were in place. For a dementia specialism home, what matters most to your parent is whether staff have been trained in approaches that go beyond basic compliance, such as understanding how to communicate with someone who has lost verbal language, or how to manage distress without reaching for medication. Our Good Practice evidence base, drawing on 61 studies, consistently finds that care plan quality varies enormously even within homes rated Good. Ask to see your parent's draft care plan before move-in, and check whether it reflects the person, not just the diagnosis.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that dementia-specific training which includes communication techniques and behavioural understanding produces measurably better outcomes for residents than generic care training, and that homes rated Good do not always demonstrate this depth of specialism.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what specific dementia training staff have completed in the past 12 months, and whether it covers non-verbal communication and responding to distress. Ask also how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether families are invited to that review."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Firs was rated Good for Caring at its June 2022 inspection. This domain reflects whether staff treat residents with warmth, dignity, and respect, and whether residents feel genuinely cared for rather than processed. Staff warmth and compassion are the two most influential themes in family satisfaction data, together accounting for the majority of what families describe when they say a home is good. The published inspection text does not include any specific observations of staff interactions, quotes from residents, or examples of how dignity was protected in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is named in 57.3% of positive family reviews and compassion in 55.2%, making this the single most important domain for most families choosing a home. A Good rating here is reassuring, but without specific inspector observations it is hard to know what that warmth looks like in practice at The Firs. For your mum or dad with dementia, the quality of interaction during personal care, at mealtimes, and during moments of confusion or distress is what shapes their daily experience. The inspection text does not give you that picture. Your own visit is the only way to assess it.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies non-verbal communication as particularly critical in dementia care. Staff who know a resident's personal history, preferred name, and lifelong habits are consistently better at de-escalating distress and maintaining dignity, especially as verbal communication becomes more difficult.","watch_out":"When you visit, watch how staff address your parent or other residents in the corridor or lounge. Do they use first names or preferred names? Do they make eye contact and pause for a response? Do they move at the resident's pace or their own? These behaviours are visible within the first 20 minutes of a visit."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Firs was rated Good for Responsive at its June 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether care is tailored to individual needs, whether activities are meaningful and available to everyone including those with more advanced dementia, and whether complaints are handled properly. The home specialises in dementia and mental health conditions, so responsiveness to individual presentation and behaviour is particularly relevant. No specific examples of activity provision, individual engagement, or complaint handling were included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities engagement accounts for 21.4% of what families mention positively in reviews, and resident happiness for 27.1%. For a parent with dementia, meaningful activity is not a luxury. Good Practice research shows that person-centred, tailored engagement, including everyday household tasks and one-to-one time, reduces agitation and supports a sense of identity even in the later stages of the condition. A Good rating is a positive signal, but the published findings give no detail about what a typical day looks like at The Firs, or whether someone who cannot join a group session receives individual attention. This is a gap worth filling before you make a decision.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research review found that Montessori-based and occupation-focused activity approaches, including familiar household tasks, produce significantly better engagement for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group entertainment-style programmes, and that many Good-rated homes still rely primarily on group activities.","watch_out":"Ask to see the actual activity record for the past four weeks, not the planned timetable. Ask specifically what structured one-to-one engagement is available for a resident who cannot or does not want to join a group, and who is responsible for delivering it."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Firs was rated Good for Well-led at its June 2022 inspection, having previously been rated Requires Improvement. A named registered manager, Kerry Lee Colbourne, is confirmed as in post, with Sumosh Thannikkal Mohanan identified as the nominated individual. This structure suggests clear lines of accountability. The improvement from Requires Improvement to Good in leadership is particularly significant because leadership quality is one of the strongest predictors of whether a home maintains and builds on its standards over time. No specific detail about staff culture, governance processes, or how the manager engages with residents and families was included in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management visibility and stability account for 23.4% of what families mention in positive reviews. Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability predicts quality trajectory: homes with a stable, well-supported manager are more likely to sustain improvement than those with frequent turnover. The fact that The Firs improved its Well-led rating is a meaningful signal. However, the inspection was conducted in June 2022. It is worth confirming that the same manager is still in post, because a change in leadership since then would alter the picture significantly. Communication with families accounts for 11.5% of positive reviews; ask directly how the home keeps you informed.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that bottom-up staff empowerment, where care workers feel safe to raise concerns and managers act visibly on feedback, is one of the most reliable markers of a home that will continue to improve rather than drift back toward previous weaknesses.","watch_out":"Ask whether Kerry Lee Colbourne is still the registered manager, and how long she has been in post. Ask also what has changed since the previous Requires Improvement rating: what specific improvements were made, and how does the home now monitor whether those improvements are holding?"}

  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 Firs specialises in dementia care and supporting people with mental health conditions, focusing on residents aged 65 and over.. Gaps or open questions remain on With dementia care as one of their core specialisms, the team understands the unique challenges families face. They work to keep everyone connected and informed throughout the care journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.