The Conifers

What families say

Based on 9 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness68
• Activities & engagement55
• Food quality55
• Healthcare68
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness68

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-02-11 · Report published 2022-02-11 · Inspected 5 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Safe at its November 2021 inspection. The home is registered as a nursing home, meaning a qualified nurse must be available at all times. The published summary does not reproduce specific findings about staffing ratios, medicines management, falls recording, or infection control. A Good rating indicates inspectors did not find significant safety concerns at the time of the visit.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating is reassuring, but the published findings give you very little to work with beyond the headline. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety is most likely to slip in a 55-bed home. With dementia as a specialism, you should ask specifically how many staff are on duty between 10pm and 6am and whether a qualified nurse is always present. Our review data shows that families mention staff attentiveness as a key concern, and the only way to assess this at The Conifers is to ask direct questions and observe on a visit.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that agency staff reliance undermines consistency of care, particularly for people with dementia who rely on familiar faces to feel safe. The published findings do not confirm or deny agency use at The Conifers, so this is a priority question to raise.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the last two weeks, not a template. Count how many permanent staff names appear on night shifts versus agency names, and confirm that a qualified nurse is on site overnight every night."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Effective at its November 2021 inspection. The registration includes treatment of disease, disorder, or injury, which reflects the nursing home's clinical remit. The published summary does not include specific findings about care plan quality, GP access, dementia training content, or how food quality and choice were assessed. A Good rating indicates these areas were found to be satisfactory.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for Effective means inspectors were satisfied with how the home translates its knowledge into your parent's care, but without published specifics you cannot tell whether care plans are genuinely personalised or whether dementia training goes beyond a basic online module. Good Practice evidence shows that care plans need to function as living documents, updated as your parent's needs change, not filed away after admission. Food quality is consistently mentioned in our family review data (it appears in 20.9% of the themes families raise), so ask to have a meal with your parent before you decide.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that dementia-specific training, particularly training focused on non-verbal communication and understanding behaviour as a form of expression, significantly improves outcomes for residents. Confirm what specific dementia training all frontline staff at The Conifers have completed.","watch_out":"Ask the manager when your parent's care plan would first be written, who contributes to it, how often it is reviewed, and whether you would be invited to those reviews. Also ask to see a week of menus and confirm how the home manages texture-modified diets."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Caring at its November 2021 inspection. This domain covers staff warmth, dignity, respect, and how well staff support independence. The published summary reproduces no direct quotes from residents or relatives and no specific inspector observations about interactions. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the culture of care they observed.","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 follow closely at 55.2%. A Good rating for Caring is therefore meaningful, but without specific observations or quotes in the published report you cannot assess what warmth looks like in practice at The Conifers. When you visit, watch how staff address your parent, whether they use the name your parent prefers, whether they make eye contact, and whether they seem rushed. These small signals are the most reliable indicators of a genuinely caring culture.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal communication for people living with dementia. Staff who crouch to eye level, speak unhurriedly, and respond to distress with physical reassurance rather than redirection produce measurably better wellbeing outcomes.","watch_out":"During your visit, watch what happens when a resident with dementia becomes distressed or confused. Do staff stop what they are doing and respond calmly, or do they call across the room or keep moving? This is the most direct test of a caring culture you can conduct without needing to read any paperwork."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Responsive at its November 2021 inspection. This domain covers how well the home tailors activities and care to individual needs, supports independence, and plans for end of life. Dementia is a registered specialism. The published summary contains no specific findings about the activities programme, one-to-one engagement, or end-of-life care planning. A Good rating indicates these areas were found to be satisfactory.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement appear in 21.4% of positive family reviews, and resident happiness, which reflects how settled and engaged people feel day to day, is cited in 27.1%. The concern with a 55-bed nursing home specialising in dementia is whether the activities programme reaches people who cannot join group sessions. Good Practice research is clear that people in later stages of dementia need tailored one-to-one engagement, not just access to a group activity board. The published findings give no evidence either way, so this is a critical area to investigate directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett review found that Montessori-based approaches and everyday household tasks, such as folding, watering plants, and simple cooking activities, provide meaningful engagement for people with advanced dementia and are associated with reduced distress behaviours.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what happened yesterday for a resident who was unable to leave their room. If the answer is vague or defaulted to television, ask how one-to-one engagement is scheduled and recorded for people with advanced dementia."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The home was rated Good for Well-led at its November 2021 inspection. A registered manager (Mrs Karen Tracey Burns) and a nominated individual (Mr Timothy Kayode Ogunleye) are named in the registration record. The published summary contains no specific findings about management visibility, staff culture, governance systems, or how the home responds to complaints. A Good rating indicates inspectors were satisfied with the leadership structure and culture.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management and communication with families appear in 23.4% and 11.5% of positive family reviews respectively, and Good Practice research consistently shows that leadership stability predicts the quality of care over time. The fact that a named manager and nominated individual are in post is a positive signal, but the inspection is now over three years old (November 2021). Ask whether the same manager is still in post, whether there have been significant staffing changes since then, and how the home has developed since the inspection. Our review data shows that families value proactive communication, not just being called when something goes wrong.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that homes where staff feel empowered to raise concerns without fear produce better outcomes for residents. A Good rating for Well-led suggests this culture was present at inspection, but ask staff directly whether they feel comfortable speaking up if something concerns them.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post and whether they are the same manager who was in place at the November 2021 inspection. Then ask how they would contact you if your parent had a fall, a change in condition, or a complaint was raised about their care."}

  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 cares for adults under 65 who need nursing support, as well as older residents over 65. They also provide specialist dementia care services.. Gaps or open questions remain on Conifers offers dedicated support for residents living with dementia. Their nursing team works with people at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.