The Pines Care & Nursing Home – Country Court

What families say

Families talk about walking into a space that feels comfortable rather than clinical. There's a programme of activities and entertainment that keeps residents engaged, and the atmosphere stays homely despite being a professional care setting. People mention how clean everything is without feeling sterile or corporate.

Based on 22 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement68
• Food quality68
• Healthcare70
• Management & leadership70
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-02-26 · Report published 2019-02-26

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. Beyond that headline, the published report contains no specific detail about staffing ratios, falls management, medication records, infection control practices, or how the home responds when things go wrong. The review carried out in July 2023 found no reason to change the rating, but it did not involve a new on-site inspection.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good rating for safety is reassuring as a baseline, but it tells you relatively little on its own when the underlying evidence is not published. Good Practice research consistently identifies night staffing as the point where safety most often slips in nursing homes, and agency reliance as a factor that undermines consistency of care. For a 42-bed dementia nursing home, you need to know the overnight headcount and how stable the permanent staff team is. The inspection findings do not answer either question, so you will need to ask directly.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that safety incidents in care homes are most likely to occur on night shifts and during periods of high agency use. Knowing the permanent-to-agency ratio and the overnight staffing number is one of the most practical safety checks a family can make.","watch_out":"Ask the manager to show you the actual staffing rota for the past two weeks, not a template. Count how many shifts were covered by permanent staff versus agency, and ask specifically how many carers are on the dementia unit after 10pm."}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, covering training, care planning, healthcare access, and nutrition. The published summary names a registered manager and a nominated individual but records no specific observations about care plan content, GP access frequency, dementia training programmes, or how food quality and choice are managed for people living with dementia.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Effective care for someone living with dementia means more than a Good rating on a form. Good Practice research identifies care plans as living documents that should be updated whenever your parent's condition changes, and family involvement in those reviews as a marker of genuinely person-centred care. The inspection does not tell us how often plans are reviewed here or whether families are routinely invited to contribute. Food quality is one of the most telling indicators of genuine care: if the kitchen understands texture, preference, and the importance of unhurried mealtimes for people with dementia, that usually shows up in other areas of care too.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that dementia-specific training, particularly training focused on non-verbal communication and behavioural support, significantly improves the quality of daily interactions between staff and residents. General care training alone is not sufficient for a specialist dementia nursing home.","watch_out":"Ask the manager what dementia-specific training staff have completed in the past 12 months, who delivers it, and how the home checks that the learning is applied in practice. Then ask to see the menu for this week and whether a member of staff sits with residents who need support to eat."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. No direct observations of staff interactions, no resident quotes, and no family testimony are recorded in the published report. The July 2023 review noted no reason to change the rating but did not involve inspectors visiting the home.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single biggest driver of family satisfaction in our review data, mentioned in 57.3% of positive Google reviews, and compassionate, dignified treatment appears in 55.2%. These are not abstract qualities: families notice them in the first ten minutes of a visit, in whether staff use your parent's preferred name without being prompted, whether they knock before entering a room, and whether they move with patience rather than hurry. The inspection gives you no specific evidence on any of these points for The Pines, so you will need to observe them yourself.","evidence_base":"Good Practice research confirms that non-verbal communication is as important as verbal interaction for people living with advanced dementia. Staff who make eye contact, speak calmly, and allow time for a response before moving on produce measurably better outcomes for residents than those who are technically competent but hurried.","watch_out":"On your first visit, sit in a communal area for at least 20 minutes without announcing why you are there. Watch whether staff address your parent by their preferred name, whether interactions feel rushed, and how a member of staff responds if a resident appears distressed or confused."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good, covering activities, individuality, and responsiveness to changing needs. No specific activity observations, individual engagement examples, or end-of-life care detail are recorded in the published text. The home specialises in dementia care, which makes the absence of detail about tailored versus group activities particularly worth following up.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Resident happiness features in 27.1% of the positive reviews in our dataset, and meaningful activity is cited in 21.4%. For people living with dementia, the research is clear that group activities alone are not enough: one-to-one engagement, familiar household tasks, and sensory activities tailored to the individual matter significantly more as the condition progresses. A published Good rating does not tell you whether the home has an activities coordinator who works with residents who cannot join a group, or whether your parent's personal history and preferences would be woven into their daily routine.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett evidence review found that Montessori-based and individually tailored activity approaches produce significantly better wellbeing outcomes for people with dementia than group-only programmes. Everyday tasks such as folding, sorting, and simple cooking support a sense of purpose and continuity of identity.","watch_out":"Ask to see the activity records for a resident with moderate to advanced dementia over the past month, not the planned schedule but the actual recorded activity. Ask specifically what happens on days when group sessions are not running and how staff support someone who can no longer participate in groups."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The inspection rated this domain Good. A registered manager and a nominated individual are named in the published record. No detail about the manager's day-to-day presence, staff culture, governance processes, or how the home handles complaints is included in the published summary.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Leadership stability is one of the strongest predictors of care quality over time, according to the Good Practice evidence base. A manager who has been in post for several years, who knows residents and staff by name, and who can speak without notes about what has changed and improved since the last inspection is a very different prospect from one who is new or transitioning. The inspection is now more than six years old. The registered manager named in the report may or may not still be in post. Management continuity (23.4% weight in our family score) is a question you need to ask directly, because the published findings cannot answer it.","evidence_base":"IFF Research found that bottom-up empowerment, where staff feel confident to raise concerns and know they will be acted on, is a consistent marker of high-quality leadership in care homes. Ask staff directly, not just the manager, whether they feel heard.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether there have been any significant staffing or management changes in the past 12 months. Then, separately, ask a care worker or nurse whether they feel comfortable raising concerns with management. Notice whether the answer is given freely or with hesitation."}

  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 Pines specialises in caring for adults over 65, with particular expertise in dementia care.. Gaps or open questions remain on Their dementia care approach combines skilled nursing support with maintaining dignity and quality of life, helping residents stay engaged through appropriate activities and social programmes. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.