Foresters Lodge Care Home

What families say

Families have noticed how the senior staff and care team work together to create an environment where residents thrive. One family member shared how pleased they were to see their mother's condition improve after she moved in.

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement52
• Food quality52
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership60
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-01-15 · Report published 2019-01-15 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, suggesting inspectors were satisfied that people were protected from avoidable harm and that medicines, staffing, and infection control arrangements met required standards. No specific concerns about safety were flagged. The home cares for people with dementia, which carries inherent risks around falls, wandering, and medication complexity. However, the available inspection text provides no specific detail about how these risks are managed in practice u2014 no falls data, no medicine audit findings, and no observations of safe practice are described.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating is a reasonable baseline u2014 it means the inspector did not find evidence that your parent would be at immediate or ongoing risk. But for a dementia nursing home of 69 beds, the detail matters enormously. Our family review data shows that safe environment and staff attentiveness are among the concerns families raise most consistently after moving a parent in. The absence of specific narrative in this report means you cannot rely on the published findings alone to judge how safe the environment actually feels. Good Practice research consistently identifies night hours as the period when safety most often slips in care homes, particularly where agency staff cover gaps u2014 and this report tells you nothing about either.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research / Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review (2026) found that agency staff reliance is a significant predictor of safety incidents in dementia care, as unfamiliar staff are less able to recognise subtle changes in a person's presentation or anticipate risky behaviours.","watch_out":"When you visit, ask: 'How many permanent members of staff are on the dementia unit after 8pm, and how often do you use agency staff to cover nights?' A confident, specific answer is a good sign. Hesitation or vagueness warrants further probing."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good, which covers staff training, care planning, nutrition, healthcare access, and how well the home supports people to maintain their health. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means the home is formally registered to provide dementia-specific care. No concerns about medication management, GP access, or nutritional support were flagged. As with the other domains, the available report text contains no specific detail u2014 no training records reviewed, no examples of care plan quality, and no description of how food and drink needs are met for people with advanced dementia.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For families considering this home for a parent with dementia, the quality of care planning and dementia training is arguably the most important practical factor. A Good Effective rating suggests the basics are in place, but 'dementia specialism' can mean very different things from home to home u2014 from a dedicated unit with specialist staff to simply accepting dementia diagnoses. Our family review data shows that dementia-specific care quality is among the top concerns cited in negative reviews. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans should function as living documents, updated after every significant change, and that families should be actively invited to contribute u2014 not just consulted at annual reviews.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies regular, meaningful family involvement in care planning as one of the strongest protective factors for people with dementia u2014 particularly for communicating preferences about food, comfort, and daily routine that the person can no longer express themselves.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan format and ask: 'When was the last time a resident's care plan was updated following a health change, and how would you involve me in that process?' The answer will tell you whether care planning is genuinely personalised or largely administrative."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good, indicating inspectors were satisfied that staff treated people with kindness, respect, and dignity. For a home specialising in dementia, the Caring rating is the one families most want to understand in depth u2014 it covers how staff communicate with people who may have limited verbal ability, whether personal care is delivered with sensitivity, and whether people's individual histories and preferences are known and honoured. The available text provides no specific observations, quotes, or examples to illustrate what Good caring looks like at Foresters Lodge in practice.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"In our analysis of over 3,600 family Google reviews, staff warmth (cited by 57.3% of reviewers) and compassion and dignity (55.2%) are by far the two most important themes for families. These are also the hardest things to assess from a published report u2014 they are felt in the moment, in a corridor, in the way a member of staff pauses to listen to someone who is distressed. Good Practice research emphasises that for people with advanced dementia, non-verbal communication u2014 tone of voice, eye contact, physical reassurance u2014 matters as much as words. A Good rating here is encouraging, but your own eyes during a visit will tell you more than any document.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett / IFF rapid review found that person-centred caring in dementia depends critically on staff knowing the individual u2014 their life history, preferences, and triggers u2014 and that homes where this knowledge is embedded in daily practice (not just written in care plans) show significantly better outcomes for resident wellbeing.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice how staff address your parent by name u2014 and check it is the name your parent actually prefers, not their formal name. Watch whether staff crouch to eye level when speaking to someone seated, and whether interactions feel unhurried. These small behaviours are reliable indicators of genuine caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good, covering how well the home meets individual needs, provides meaningful activities, supports independence, and plans for end of life. For people living with dementia, responsiveness means more than having an activities board in the corridor u2014 it means one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join groups, activities that connect with a person's life history, and care that adapts as needs change. The available inspection text provides no specific detail about the activities programme, individual engagement, or end-of-life arrangements at Foresters Lodge.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness is the third most positively cited theme in our family review data (27.1%), and activities and engagement are consistently raised in both positive and negative reviews (21.4%). Good Practice research is clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people with moderate to advanced dementia u2014 tailored one-to-one engagement, drawing on a person's life history, produces measurably better outcomes for mood and behaviour. The absence of detail in this inspection means you genuinely cannot tell from the published findings whether the activities provision here is varied and individualised, or whether it defaults to group television watching.","evidence_base":"The IFF / Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and life-history-led approaches to activities in dementia care u2014 including familiar household tasks, reminiscence, and sensory engagement u2014 significantly reduce agitation and improve quality of life, particularly for people who can no longer participate in structured group activities.","watch_out":"Ask the home: 'If my parent can no longer join group activities, what would a typical afternoon look like for them? Who would sit with them, and what would that look like?' A specific, confident answer with examples is what you are looking for u2014 not a generic reference to person-centred care."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-Led domain was rated Good, and the home has both a named Registered Manager (Mrs Lisa Jayne De'Ath) and a Nominated Individual (Mrs Joanne Fogg) recorded against the registration. A stable, named management structure is a positive indicator. The inspection was carried out in February 2021, and a monitoring review in July 2023 found no evidence requiring reassessment u2014 suggesting no significant concerns have emerged in the intervening period. No specific detail about management culture, staff empowerment, governance processes, or how the home handles complaints is available from the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Our family review data shows that visible, responsive management (23.4% of positive reviews) and reliable communication with families (11.5%) are the management qualities families value most. Good Practice evidence is consistent: leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality trajectory. Homes where the manager has been in post for several years, where staff feel empowered to raise concerns, and where families receive proactive communication tend to maintain and improve their standards. The 2021 inspection date means this rating is now over three years old u2014 a significant gap in a sector where management changes can substantially alter culture.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett / IFF rapid review found that bottom-up staff empowerment u2014 where care staff feel able to raise concerns without fear, and where their observations about residents directly inform care decisions u2014 is a key differentiator between homes that maintain Good and those that deteriorate.","watch_out":"Ask directly: 'How long has the current registered manager been in post, and has there been any significant management change in the last two years?' Then ask a care worker the same question informally if you get the chance u2014 consistency between the two answers is itself informative."}

  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 provides specialist dementia care alongside support for adults over and under 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the team's approach has helped some families see positive changes in their loved ones' daily life and overall wellbeing. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.