The Firs

What families say

People describe a real sense of security here — not just physical safety, but that deeper confidence that comes from seeing staff who clearly know what they're doing. The personal attention seems to make a difference, with families noticing how staff remember the little details about each resident.

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
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2020-03-11 · Report published 2020-03-11 · Inspected 4 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for safety at its November 2020 inspection. This rating covers staffing levels, medicines management, infection control, and how the home responds to accidents and incidents. The published summary does not provide specific staffing ratios, night cover details, or examples of how the home learned from incidents. No concerns or requirements were recorded in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Safe rating means inspectors were satisfied that your parent would not be placed at unacceptable risk, but without the detail behind the rating it is hard to know exactly what was checked. Good Practice research consistently shows that night staffing is where safety most often slips in small residential homes: a 15-bed home may have only one or two carers on overnight, and whether one of them holds a senior qualification matters greatly for someone with dementia. Because no staffing figures are published here, you would need to ask the home directly for that information. This rating is also now over four years old, so any reassurance it provides is limited without a more recent inspection.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance and inconsistent night cover are among the strongest predictors of safety failures in small residential dementia settings. Permanent, familiar staff at night reduce falls, missed medication, and distressed behaviour.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for a recent week, not just the template. Find out how many staff are on duty overnight, whether any hold a senior or dementia-specific qualification, and how many shifts in the past month were covered by agency rather than permanent staff."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for effectiveness at its November 2020 inspection. This domain covers care planning, staff training, GP and healthcare access, nutrition, and hydration. The published summary does not include detail about how often care plans were reviewed, whether families were involved in reviews, or what dementia training staff had completed. No concerns were raised in this domain.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating tells you that inspectors were broadly satisfied with how care was planned and delivered, but the absence of specific detail makes it difficult to judge how well your parent's individual needs and preferences would actually be captured. Good Practice evidence is clear that care plans should be treated as living documents, reviewed at least monthly for someone with dementia, and that family input into those reviews is associated with better outcomes. The inspection does not confirm whether this was happening at The Firs. Dementia-specific training content also matters: knowing that staff are trained is less useful than knowing what that training covered and when it was last updated.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that care plans reviewed monthly or more frequently, with direct family input, are associated with better person-centred outcomes for people living with dementia, particularly as needs change over time.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how often care plans are formally reviewed and whether you, as a family member, would be invited to contribute. Ask what dementia training staff have completed and when the most recent training took place."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for caring at its November 2020 inspection. This domain reflects whether inspectors found staff to be kind, respectful, and attentive, and whether residents' privacy and dignity were upheld. No specific observations, staff behaviours, or resident and family quotes are recorded in the published summary. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. A Good Caring rating is therefore meaningful, but without specific examples it is impossible to know whether inspectors witnessed warm, unhurried interactions or simply found no evidence of poor practice. These are very different things. On a visit, watch whether staff use your parent's preferred name, whether they knock before entering a room, and whether they sit down to speak to residents rather than talking from a standing position. These small behaviours are the most reliable observable signals of a genuinely caring culture.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication, including pace, posture, and eye contact, is as important as spoken words for people living with dementia. Person-centred care requires that staff know each resident's history, preferences, and communication style, not just their medical needs.","watch_out":"During your visit, ask a staff member what your parent's preferred name would be and how they would respond if your parent became upset or confused. Watch whether the response is immediate and specific, or vague and scripted."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for responsiveness at its November 2020 inspection. This domain covers whether activities are meaningful and tailored to individuals, whether complaints are handled well, and whether end-of-life care is planned. The published summary contains no detail about the activities programme, individual engagement, or complaint handling. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and meaningful engagement account for 21.4% of what families highlight in positive reviews, and resident happiness accounts for a further 27.1%. For someone living with dementia in a 15-bed home, the risk is that group activities dominate and that individuals who cannot join in are left without stimulation for long periods. Good Practice research shows that tailored one-to-one engagement, including everyday household tasks and sensory activities, is more effective for people with moderate to advanced dementia than group programmes. The inspection does not confirm whether this was happening here, so you should ask specifically about what would be offered to your parent if they were unable to participate in a group session.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-led individual engagement, such as folding, sorting, or simple gardening, significantly reduces distress and withdrawal in people with moderate to advanced dementia, particularly in smaller residential settings.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activities schedule for the past two weeks. Then ask what happens for a resident who cannot join a group activity: who provides one-to-one time, how often, and what form does it take?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for well-led at its November 2020 inspection. This domain covers the quality of management, staff culture, governance, and whether the home learns and improves over time. The published summary does not record the manager's name, tenure, or specific examples of leadership in practice. No concerns were raised.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Good Practice research identifies leadership stability as one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time: homes where the manager has been in post for two or more years tend to have more consistent staff teams and better outcomes for residents. A Good Well-Led rating from 2020 does not tell you who is currently managing the home or how long they have been in post. Communication with families is mentioned in 11.5% of positive reviews as a distinct and valued quality, and it is something the inspection did not specifically examine here. Given that this service has since been deregistered, there are also questions about what led to that decision that a 2020 inspection report cannot answer.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research review found that homes where staff feel able to speak up about concerns, and where managers are visibly present on the floor rather than office-based, have stronger safety cultures and fewer safeguarding incidents over time.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current manager has been in post and whether the same management team was in place at the time of the 2020 inspection. Ask how the home communicates with families when something changes, and how staff concerns are raised and acted on."}

  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 provides specialist support for dementia, sensory impairments, mental health conditions and physical disabilities. They focus on caring for adults over 65.. Gaps or open questions remain on For those living with dementia, the smaller setting can be particularly helpful — fewer people means less confusion and more familiar faces each day. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.