Parkside Care Home in Tipton – Exemplar Health Care

What families say

Families talk about the genuine warmth they feel from the moment they walk through the door. Staff take time to chat with residents and visitors alike, creating an atmosphere where people feel comfortable and valued. There's a real sense of acceptance here — whether someone is dealing with mental health challenges, physical disabilities or memory loss, they're welcomed as an individual.

Based on 7 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 & leadership65
• Resident happiness55

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-07-02 · Report published 2019-07-02 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, up from a previous Requires Improvement rating. This means inspectors were satisfied that risks were identified and managed, medicines were handled appropriately, and staffing was considered adequate. No specific observations about falls management, infection control practice, or night staffing ratios are recorded in the available published text. The improvement from Requires Improvement is worth noting, as it suggests the home responded to earlier concerns, but the gap since inspection means families cannot rely on this rating as a current guarantee.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, safety covers everything from whether call bells are answered promptly at night to how medicines are stored and administered. The Good rating here is reassuring as a starting point, particularly given the previous Requires Improvement, but six years is a long time in a care home. Night staffing is where safety most often slips, according to the Good Practice evidence base, and there is no information in this report about overnight cover. Our review data shows that family confidence in safety is closely linked to staff attentiveness, which is the theme behind 14% of positive reviews. Without specific observations from inspectors, you should treat this rating as a prompt to ask questions rather than a green light.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett University rapid evidence review found that night staffing ratios are a consistent predictor of safety outcomes in care homes, and that agency staff reliance undermines the consistency of risk monitoring. Neither figure is available for this home.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how many staff are on duty between 10pm and 6am, and how many of those are permanent employees rather than agency? Ask to see last month's rota for night shifts."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection. This domain covers training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. Dementia is listed as a specialism, which means inspectors would have considered whether staff were trained and whether care plans reflected the specific needs of people living with dementia. No detail about training content, GP visiting arrangements, or how food quality was assessed is available in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your mum or dad, effectiveness in care means that the people looking after them understand dementia specifically, not just care in general, and that their care plan is a living document rather than something filed and forgotten. Food quality matters too: our review data shows it features in 20.9% of positive family reviews, and the Good Practice evidence base flags it as a genuine marker of how much a home knows about individual preferences. The Good rating here is a reasonable baseline, but without knowing what dementia training staff have received or how often care plans are reviewed, you cannot confirm whether this reflects strong practice or minimum compliance.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans function as meaningful tools only when they are reviewed regularly with family input and updated to reflect changes in the person's condition. A plan written at admission and rarely revisited is a risk factor rather than a safeguard.","watch_out":"Ask the manager: when was your parent's care plan last reviewed, who was involved in that review, and can you show me an example of how a plan is updated when someone's needs change?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection. This domain covers how staff treat the people in their care, including warmth, dignity, privacy, and whether individuals are supported to maintain independence. No direct inspector observations, such as whether staff knocked before entering rooms or used preferred names, and no resident or family quotes are available in the published report text. The improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating across the service is context worth holding onto.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, featuring in 57.3% of positive reviews, and compassion and dignity feature in 55.2%. These are not abstract values but observable behaviours: whether a carer pauses to listen, uses your parent's preferred name, or moves without hurrying them through personal care. The Good rating here tells you inspectors were satisfied in January 2019, but the absence of specific observations means you cannot know what they actually saw. The Good Practice evidence base highlights that non-verbal communication matters as much as verbal interaction for people with dementia, and that is something you can observe yourself on a visit.","evidence_base":"The rapid evidence review found that person-led care requires staff to know the individual, including their history, preferences, and communication style, not just their clinical needs. Homes that score well on caring tend to have low staff turnover and a consistent team around each person.","watch_out":"On your visit, ask a member of staff what your parent's preferred name is, and watch whether staff make eye contact and speak at a natural pace. Then ask the manager what the average length of service is for care staff on the unit."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection. This covers whether the home tailors its care and activities to individual needs, responds to concerns and complaints, and supports people at the end of life. The home's listed specialisms include dementia, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities, which means a range of individual needs should have been considered. No detail about the activity programme, complaint handling, or end-of-life planning is available in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"For your parent, a responsive home means that someone noticed they used to enjoy gardening, or that they become anxious at a certain time of day, and that care is shaped around those details. Activities matter: they feature in 21.4% of positive reviews in our data, but the Good Practice evidence base is clear that group activities alone are not enough. People with more advanced dementia need one-to-one engagement, ideally built around familiar tasks and interests. This report gives no information about whether that happens here. Resident happiness, which features in 27.1% of positive reviews, is also something you will need to observe directly rather than rely on the rating.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and task-oriented individual activities, such as folding, sorting, or familiar household tasks, significantly improve wellbeing for people with dementia who cannot engage in group sessions. Homes that offer only group programmes are not fully meeting this standard.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: what would you organise for someone who cannot join a group session? Can you show me the activity schedule from last week, including any one-to-one sessions that took place?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-led domain was rated Good at the January 2019 inspection, an improvement from a previous Requires Improvement rating. A named registered manager and a nominated individual were both in post at the time of inspection. This suggests a governance structure was in place and that inspectors were satisfied with leadership and accountability. No information about manager tenure, staff culture, internal audit outcomes, or how the home responded to its previous rating is available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability predicts quality trajectory in care homes more reliably than almost any other factor, according to the Good Practice evidence base. A manager who has been in post for several years, knows the staff, and knows your parent by name is a very different proposition from one who was recently appointed. The Well-led rating here is encouraging, particularly given the improvement from Requires Improvement, but the inspection is over six years old. Management teams change, and so does the culture they create. Our review data shows that communication with families features in 11.5% of positive reviews, and that is something you can test directly by asking how the home would contact you if your parent had a fall or a health change overnight.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett and IFF rapid evidence review found that leadership which empowers staff to raise concerns without fear, and which acts on those concerns visibly, is a stronger predictor of care quality than inspection ratings alone. Ask staff as well as managers.","watch_out":"Ask the manager directly: how long have you been in post at this home, and what was the main change you made after the previous Requires Improvement rating? Then ask a care worker the same question about what has changed, and compare the answers."}

  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 provides specialist support for adults of all ages, including those under 65 with physical disabilities or mental health conditions. They also care for older residents and those living with dementia.. Gaps or open questions remain on While the home lists dementia care as a specialism, specific details about their approach aren't widely shared by families. It's worth asking about their methods and activities when you visit. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.