Dementia Care Home

Parklands Residential Home

Parklands, Kensham Avenue, Exeter, Devon, EX5 4RD

Residential homes

At a Glance

The information you need to decide whether this home warrants a closer look.

DCC Family Score
72/ 100
Weighted from family reviews
Dementia SpecialismConfirmed

Residential homes

Families Rate The Staff75 / 100

Staff warmth score

“Well Looked After”70%

of reviewers answered yes

Good to know

  • Registered beds18
  • SpecialismsCaring for adults over 65 yrs, Dementia, Mental health conditions, Physical disabilities
  • Last inspected2022-06-07

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The Evidence

What the review data, the inspection reports, and the dementia-care evidence base tell us about this home.

Section 01

What families say

The eight family priority themes

  • Staff warmth75
  • Compassion & dignity75
  • Cleanliness70
  • Activities & engagement60
  • Food quality60
  • Healthcare65
  • Management & leadership52
  • Resident happiness70
Section 02

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-06-07

  • Is this home safe?

    Good
    Safe was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This covers how the home manages risk, staffing levels, medicines, and infection control. The home has 18 beds and lists dementia as a specialism, so safe management of risk and consistent staffing are particularly important. The published summary does not include specific observations about falls, medicines management, or night staffing ratios. The previous Inadequate rating means it is worth asking what specifically has changed in safety arrangements.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the care effective?

    Good
    Effective was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether staff have the right training, whether care plans reflect individual needs, and whether health needs including medicines and GP access are managed well. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means the bar for training and person-centred care planning should be higher than for a general residential home. The published summary does not include specific examples of care plan content, training records reviewed, or healthcare arrangements observed.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is this home caring?

    Good
    Caring was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether staff are kind, whether residents are treated with dignity and respect, and whether people are supported to remain as independent as possible. For a home specialising in dementia, this includes whether staff know each person's history, preferences, and communication style. No specific inspector observations, resident quotes, or relative comments are included in the published summary for this domain.
    Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded
  • Is the home responsive?

    Good
    Responsive was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether the home provides meaningful activities, responds to individual preferences, and supports people at the end of life. For a home specialising in dementia, this includes whether activity provision reaches people who cannot join group sessions. The published summary does not include specific examples of activities offered, how the home supports people with advanced dementia, or how end-of-life care is planned.
    Verified by inspector
  • Is the home well-led?

    Requires improvement
    Well-led was rated Requires Improvement at the April 2022 inspection, the only domain not to achieve Good. This is the area of greatest uncertainty for families considering Parklands. The published summary names the registered manager and the nominated individual but does not detail what specific governance or oversight failures led to the Requires Improvement rating. The home had previously been rated Inadequate overall, and while four domains have recovered, leadership and governance have not yet reached the standard inspectors require.
    Verified by inspector
  • Source: CQC inspection report →

    Section 03

    What the evidence base says

    The home provides specialist support for residents with dementia and mental health conditions. They also care for people with physical disabilities. Dementia care is one of the core specialisms at Parklands. The home accepts residents with various stages and types of dementia. All areas worth probing directly during a visit.

The DCC Verdict

Our editorial view, built from the three lenses: what families tell us, what inspectors record, and how the home sits against good dementia-care practice.

72/ 100

DCC Family Score

Parklands scores in the solid middle range, reflecting a home that has made real progress from a previous Inadequate rating to Good across four of five inspection domains. The lower score on management and leadership pulls the overall figure down and is the main area to probe on a visit.

Homes in South West typically score 68–82.
DCC Recommendation

Worth a visit

Parklands in Exeter was rated Good overall at its most recent inspection in April 2022, with Good ratings across Safe, Effective, Caring, and Responsive. This matters because the home was previously rated Inadequate, making this a significant turnaround. For an 18-bed home specialising in dementia, older adults, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, a return to Good across the majority of domains is a positive signal that the care being provided has genuinely improved. The one exception is Well-led, which was rated Requires Improvement. This means inspectors found that something in the management, governance, or oversight arrangements was not yet fully embedded. Because the published inspection summary is brief, there is limited specific detail available about what staff interactions, activities, food, or night staffing actually look like day to day. On a visit, ask to speak with the registered manager about what actions have been taken since the inspection to address the Well-led rating, and ask to see the most recent staffing rota including night shifts.

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In Their Own Words

How Parklands Residential Home describes itself — collected from its own website. DCC has not edited or independently verified the content in this tab.

What Parklands Residential Home says about itself

Peaceful countryside setting with activities and entertainment programme

Dedicated residential home Support in Exeter

Parklands in Exeter offers residential care in a bright, peaceful setting with countryside views. The home specialises in supporting people with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities, providing care for adults over 65.

Care & specialisms

Who they care for

    The home provides specialist support for residents with dementia and mental health conditions. They also care for people with physical disabilities.

    How they describe their dementia care

    Dementia care is one of the core specialisms at Parklands. The home accepts residents with various stages and types of dementia.

    “Parklands welcomes visits from families exploring care options in the Exeter area.”

    DCC does not edit or curate content in this tab. For independently curated information, see The Evidence and DCC Verdict.

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