Florence House – Residential Care Home

What families say

Families visiting Florence House often mention how approachable the staff are. People describe finding the team welcoming and easy to talk with about their loved one's care.

Based on 12 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth55
• Compassion & dignity55
• Cleanliness55
• Activities & engagement50
• Food quality50
• Healthcare55
• Management & leadership35
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2022-05-14 · Report published 2022-05-14 · Inspected 3 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied with how risks were managed, how medicines were handled, and how staffing was arranged. The published report does not record specific observations about falls management, night staffing ratios, or infection control practices. No concerns about safety were flagged in the summary available.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety is reassuring, but it is the starting point rather than the full answer. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in care homes of this size. The published report gives no detail about how many staff are on duty overnight for 38 beds, and this is one of the most important questions to put directly to the manager before you commit. Agency staff use is also worth probing: homes that rely heavily on agency cover often struggle to maintain the consistency that keeps people safe, particularly those with dementia who depend on familiar faces.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that night-time staffing ratios and the proportion of permanent versus agency staff are among the strongest predictors of safety outcomes in residential dementia care.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many permanent named carers appear on night shifts versus agency staff, and ask what the home's target ratio of carers to residents is after 10pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"Effective was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published summary confirms the rating but provides no specific detail about dementia training content, how frequently care plans are reviewed, how GP access is arranged, or what mealtime experience is like for residents. The home specialises in dementia care, which raises the expectation that training should be detailed and regularly updated.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating here means inspectors were broadly satisfied, but food quality and care plan personalisation are the two areas families most consistently flag in our review data (food appears in 20.9% of positive reviews by theme). Neither is described in detail in the published findings for Florence House, so you cannot rely on the rating alone to answer questions like whether your parent's dietary preferences will be respected or whether the care plan will be updated when their needs change. Good Practice evidence shows that care plans work best as living documents updated with family input after every significant change, not annual reviews completed as a compliance exercise.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies regular GP access, dementia-specific training updated at least annually, and family involvement in care plan reviews as the three markers most strongly associated with better outcomes in residential dementia care.","watch_out":"Ask to see a sample care plan (with personal details removed) and ask specifically: how often are care plans reviewed, who is involved in the review, and how does the home let families know when the plan has changed?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"Caring was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain covers how staff treat the people in their care, including dignity, respect, privacy, and whether residents feel heard. The published summary confirms the Good rating but records no direct observations of staff interactions, no quotes from residents or relatives, and no specific examples of how the home supports dignity or independence. For a home specialising in dementia, the absence of detail here is worth noting.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned by name in 57.3% of positive reviews. Compassion and dignity account for a further 55.2%. When families visit a home and feel immediately that something is right, it is almost always because of what they observe in staff interactions: whether a carer uses your parent's preferred name, whether they move with unhurried attention, and whether they respond to distress with calm and patience rather than procedure. A Good inspection rating tells you the inspector found no reason for concern, but it does not substitute for your own observations on a visit. Spend time in a communal area and watch how staff move through the space.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research highlights that non-verbal communication, tone, pace, and touch, matters as much as words for people with advanced dementia who may no longer be able to express preferences clearly. Person-centred care requires knowing the individual, not just following a care plan.","watch_out":"During your visit, sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes without announcing what you are observing. Notice whether staff address residents by name, whether they crouch or sit to speak at eye level, and whether anyone is sitting alone without any acknowledgement for extended periods."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"Responsive was rated Good at the April 2022 inspection. This domain looks at whether the home tailors its care to individual needs and preferences, including activities, social engagement, and end-of-life planning. The published report gives no specific detail about the activity programme, one-to-one engagement for people who cannot join group activities, or how individual preferences are identified and maintained. Florence House supports people with dementia, physical disabilities, and mental health conditions, which means the range of needs across 38 beds is likely to be wide.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and resident happiness together account for nearly half of the positive themes in our family review data (21.4% and 27.1% respectively). A Good rating in this domain is positive, but the detail matters enormously. Group activities in a lounge are not the same as a meaningful 20-minute one-to-one session for your parent if they can no longer follow group conversation or move independently. Good Practice research is clear that tailored individual activity, including familiar household tasks and sensory engagement, produces better outcomes for people with advanced dementia than group programmes alone. The published findings tell you nothing about whether Florence House provides this level of individual attention.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented individual activity approaches, such as folding, sorting, or familiar domestic tasks, significantly reduce agitation and improve wellbeing in people with moderate to advanced dementia, more so than group entertainment activities.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator to describe what happened for a resident with advanced dementia last Tuesday afternoon, specifically. If the answer is vague or defaults to group activities, ask how one-to-one time is built into the weekly schedule and how that is recorded."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Requires improvement

  {"found":"Well-led was rated Requires Improvement at the April 2022 inspection. This is the only domain that did not reach Good, and it was the reason the home's previous overall rating was Requires Improvement. The published summary does not detail what specific governance failures were identified. A July 2023 review of available information found no evidence requiring the rating to be reassessed, which means the Requires Improvement rating for this domain remains current. The home is operated by Florence House (Staffordshire) Limited, with Mr Philip Morris named as Nominated Individual.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of quality trajectory in a care home. When the Well-led domain is rated Requires Improvement, it typically means inspectors found gaps in how the home monitors its own performance, how incidents are learned from, or how staff are supported and held to account. For families, this matters because good leadership is what makes the difference between a home that improves over time and one that stays stuck. Our review data shows that family satisfaction with communication, one of the key Well-led indicators, is referenced in 11.5% of positive reviews, meaning that when it goes wrong, families notice. Ask directly what specific actions were taken after the April 2022 inspection and what evidence exists that those actions have had the intended effect.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence base identifies manager tenure and a culture where staff can raise concerns without fear as the two leadership factors most strongly linked to sustained quality improvement in care homes.","watch_out":"Ask the manager how long they have been in post, what the Well-led inspection specifically found as a concern in April 2022, and what documented evidence they can show you that those issues have been resolved. If they cannot answer the second question specifically, that 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 team at Florence House supports residents with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. They welcome both younger adults under 65 and older residents.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents living with dementia, the home provides specialist care tailored to individual needs. The team has experience supporting people at different stages of their dementia journey. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.