The Poplars

What families say

Based on 7 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
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership72
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-11-08 · Report published 2019-11-08 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. No specific inspector observations or detail are available in the published summary text. The home is registered for 27 beds across a mixed-needs service, which means safe staffing at night is a particularly important question given the range of support needs present.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Safe means inspectors did not identify failures in medicines, staffing, or infection control during their visit. However, our Good Practice evidence base (61 studies, March 2026) consistently identifies night-time staffing as the point where safety most often slips in smaller homes, particularly those supporting dementia alongside other complex needs. With 27 beds and a wide range of specialisms, knowing the exact number of staff on duty overnight matters more than the headline rating alone. Because no specific observations are published here, you should treat the Good rating as a starting point rather than a complete answer.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that safety incidents in care homes are disproportionately concentrated on night shifts, and that agency staff unfamiliar with individual residents are a significant contributing factor. Homes with low agency use and stable permanent night teams consistently show fewer serious incidents.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for last week, not the template. Count the number of permanent staff versus agency names on the night shifts, and ask what the minimum staffing level is for overnight cover across the 27 beds."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers staff training, care planning, healthcare access including GP involvement, and how well the home meets nutritional needs. No specific detail about training content, care plan quality, or food provision is available in the published summary. The home's registered specialism includes dementia, which raises specific questions about the depth and currency of dementia training across the staff team.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effective is encouraging, but our family review data shows that food quality (mentioned positively in 20.9% of the reviews that drive our scores) and dementia-specific care (12.7%) are areas where families notice the difference very quickly after moving in. The absence of specific published detail means you cannot yet assess whether care plans are genuinely person-centred or whether dementia training goes beyond a basic online module. The Good Practice evidence base strongly supports care plans as living documents updated at least monthly with family involvement, so asking to see how this works in practice is important.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that care plans which include the person's life history, preferred routines, and communication style produce measurably better outcomes for people with dementia. Homes that involve families in regular care plan reviews also report higher family satisfaction scores.","watch_out":"Ask the manager when your parent's care plan would first be written, who would be involved in that process, and how often it would be formally reviewed. Ask specifically whether you would be invited to review meetings or receive a copy."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well the home supports your parent's independence. No specific inspector observations, such as staff using preferred names or responding unhurriedly, are available in the published summary text. Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, present in 57.3% of positive reviews, making this the domain most worth observing directly on a visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth accounts for 57.3% of positive family reviews across 5,409 UK care homes in our January 2026 data, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. These are the two things families notice and remember most. A Good rating for Caring confirms inspectors did not find failures, but the presence of warmth is best assessed in person, not from a published report. When you visit, watch how staff speak to residents in corridors and communal areas, whether they crouch to eye level, and whether they use names rather than generic terms. The Good Practice evidence base identifies non-verbal communication, tone, pace, and physical warmth, as just as important as what staff say.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review identified that person-led care requires staff to know the individual's history, preferences, and communication style. Homes where staff can describe a resident's life before care, not just their diagnosis, consistently score higher on dignity and wellbeing measures.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice whether staff address residents by their preferred name or a generic term. Ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name would be called and how they would find out. This single test tells you a great deal about whether person-centred care is real or just written in a policy."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors activities and daily life to individual preferences, responds to complaints, and plans for end-of-life care. No specific activity programme detail, individual engagement examples, or end-of-life planning information is available in the published summary. With dementia listed as a specialism and a mixed-needs group of 27 residents, the range and individualisation of activities is an important question.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement are referenced positively in 21.4% of family reviews in our data, and resident happiness overall drives 27.1% of positive sentiment. The Good Practice evidence base is particularly clear that group activities alone are insufficient for people living with advanced dementia, who benefit most from one-to-one engagement and familiar, everyday tasks. Because no specific programme detail is published here, you should ask to see what actually happened last week rather than what is planned. End-of-life planning is also worth raising directly, as families consistently tell us this is left too late in the care process.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found strong evidence for Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches in dementia care, with one-to-one engagement producing significantly better wellbeing outcomes than group-only programmes. Familiar household tasks, such as folding, gardening, and simple cooking, support a sense of purpose and continuity of identity.","watch_out":"Ask the activity coordinator to show you the activity records for the past two weeks, not the forward-looking timetable. Check whether any one-to-one sessions are recorded for residents who do not or cannot join group activities, and ask how they would support your parent if group participation became difficult."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Not yet rated

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the September 2025 inspection. This domain covers management quality, governance, staff culture, and how the home responds to feedback and incidents. Mrs Caroline Monaghan-Fox is the registered manager and Mr Salim Cader is the nominated individual for the provider, Appcourt Limited. No specific detail about management visibility, staff culture, or governance mechanisms is available in the published summary text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and leadership account for 23.4% of positive family review sentiment in our data, and our Good Practice evidence base identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time. Knowing how long the current registered manager has been in post, and whether the staff team is settled, matters as much as the Good rating itself. Communication with families (11.5% of positive reviews) is also a leadership issue: ask how the manager makes sure you are contacted promptly if your parent's health or behaviour changes. A Good rating here is a positive signal, but the detail behind it is worth exploring directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that leadership stability, specifically a consistent registered manager who is visible to both staff and residents, is one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes. Homes where staff feel able to raise concerns without fear consistently show better safety and wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"Ask the registered manager how long they have been in post at Poplars specifically, and ask how staff raise concerns if they see something they are worried about. A confident, specific answer to the second question is a good sign. Vague reassurance is not."}

  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 team supports adults under 65 with complex needs as well as older residents, including those living with dementia or mental health conditions.. Gaps or open questions remain on Dementia care forms part of the specialist support available, with staff experienced in supporting residents through different stages of memory loss. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.