The Firs

186 Grange Road, Felixstowe IP11 2QF
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9.8 135 Reviews
  • The Firs, Felixstowe
Anchor’s The Firs in Felixstowe is a purpose-built care home, providing quality care and facilities within a comfortable and relaxing environment. The home continues to welcome new residents and it is set in its own gardens for customers and their families to enjoy.

The home provides residential care which is personally tailored to meet the individual needs of customers and enhance their quality of life. The care team works with customers and their loved ones to create detailed care plans to ensure each individual’s health and care needs are continually met.

Anchor offers dementia care and provides on-going training for staff to ensure their approach always reflects best practice.

Anchor is England’s largest provider of housing and care for those over 55 years of age and has 60 years of experience as a not-for-profit provider of services to older people. Anchor reinvests the money made into their retirement properties and care homes, to continually raise standards to provide a high-quality service to surpass the customer’s expectations.
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Care Provided by The Firs

Primary Care Categories

  • Older Person Care
  • Dementia

Length of Stay

  • Permanent Care
  • Respite Care

Care Types Provided

  • Residential Care
  • Dementia Residential Care
  • For a maximum of 40 Service Users

Dementia Care Types

  • Mild Dementia
  • Moderate Dementia

Facilities

  • Own Furniture if required
  • Pet Friendly (or by arrangement)
  • Close to Local shops
  • Near Public Transport
  • Lift
  • Wheelchair Access
  • Gardens
  • Residents Kitchenette
  • Phone Point in own room
  • Television point in own room

Funding & Fees

Weekly Charges per Person

  • Self-Funded Residential Care: from £1466
  • Self-Funded Residential Dementia Care: from £1466
  • RESPITE Self-Funded Residential Care: from £1466
  • RESPITE Self-Funded Residential Dementia Care: from £1466

Our colleagues at The Firs will be happy to answer any questions you have regarding our fees and what is included in our fees.

These prices are only a guideline, please contact The Firs to find out the exact price for your requirements.

Funding Types Accepted

  • Self Funding (Private)
  • Local Authority with Top Up
  • Local Authority
  • NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)

Good to Know

Group/Owner

Person in charge

  • Colleen Farrow (Manager)

Local Authority / Social Services

Admission Criteria

  • Please contact The Firs directly to discuss yours or your loved ones' care needs.
  • Ages 65+

Care Home Design/Build

  • Purpose Built: Yes
  • Last Refurbishment: 2006

Room Information

  • Single Rooms (40)
  • Couples/Companion Rooms (0)
  • Single Rooms with Ensuite Wet Room (40)

Visiting

  • Visitors are welcome at The Firs.

Parking

  • Onsite parking is available, including disabled spaces.

The Firs Reviews (135)

9.8

The Firs has a Review Score of 9.8 (9.839) out of 10, based on 38 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time The Firs has 135 reviews.

Overall Experience
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Date Published
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Reviewer Connection to The Firs
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Total of 135, showing 121-135
Review from P F (Son-in-law of Resident) published on 21 March 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Only visited three times, from what I have seen and experienced, the home is an excellent facility. I would definitely recommend it to any family. My father-in-law has settled in extremely well. We all feel totally happy with the care provided.
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Review from Caron F (Daughter of Resident) published on 21 March 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My father spent several weeks in hospital prior to coming into The Firs and we are all so pleased to now have him settled in The Firs. He has a lovely room overlooking the garden which he will love in the summertime. The staff are all lovely, friendly and welcoming, making the family feel very relieved
to see Dad so wonderfully taken care of. Thank you to you all.
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Review from D C (Daughter of Resident) published on 12 March 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My mother is a resident. Home is friendly and welcoming. Rooms are a nice size. Staff are proactive in dealing with any medical issues that arise! Activities good. Home is 'quiet' at the moment, hoping for new residents for my mother to interact with!
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Review from S M (Son of Resident) published on 6 March 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The Firs is safe, secure but very homely too. Lots of space and familiar resources for my mum to select. Staff have got to know my mum really well and regularly share information about her and how she spends her day. Mum is very happy and settled and that is very reassuring to us.
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Review from Kevin H (Son of Resident) published on 12 February 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
My mother seems very happy and settled. The staff are well aware of her needs and have become used to her personality. They tend to persuade mum to do the things which are good for her. She has regular access to health professionals, through the scheduled home visits. We have been involved in a care
plan review and our mother's involvement was also sought in that process.
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Review from Elizabeth S (Daughter of Resident) published on 31 January 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
I knew as soon as Iu walked through the door that this was the place for Mum. The staff are kind and friendly and very supportive. It feels very homely and Mum settled in well. All her needs are now being met which has allowed me not to worry as much.
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Review from Joan F (Cousin of Resident) published on 12 January 2018 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Always extremely good, helpful staff and my cousin is well looked after here.
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Review from James P (Son of Resident) published on 21 December 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
This care home is very caring and staff are very friendly and caring and normally efficient. I would like to see some activities for my mother other than bingo. Overall a very good home.
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Review from Wendy F (Daughter of Resident) published on 21 December 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have great peace of mind that mum is safe and happy within the home.
The staff are all very friendly and dedicated to their work and always make us feel welcome when we visit.
I would highly recommend The Firs to others.
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Review from G M (Daughter of Resident) published on 12 December 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My mother has been resident in this care home since May 2017 having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's/dementia. Due to this illness, residential care was the only option left. After visiting three care home, this being the first, we knew as soon as we walked in that this was the right home. We could immediately
see the love and care the residents received from the staff.


The home is very clean and the menu is excellent. Nothing is ever too much for the staff to help and I believe they have a genuine love and care for the residents. The social activities are very good and open to all residents.

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Review from Christine H (Daughter-in-law of Resident) published on 31 March 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Since the appointment of the new manager, there appears to have been a much higher turnover of staff. The rota has been changed, I understand to 7days of work before days off, is this legal?
Also, staff used to have alternative weekends off and now it appears they don't get more than two weekends
off every 6 weeks.
If you have unhappy staff it reflects on the residents. Split weekends do not give care staff a good rest when working with Dementia residents.
I have overheard staff say it is like working in a prison!
Not good for residents, staff or visitors.
Reply from Judith McGugan, District Manager at The Firs

We monitor the turnover of staff at our homes and do ask staff for the reason they are leaving to enable us to review staff satisfaction. We also undertake staff surveys to enable staff to have the opportunity to comment upon us as a Company and the working environment. All changes to working patterns have been discussed with staff prior to the changes. The working patterns are agreed to ensure that the home is staffed to maintain resident care and staff do have the opportunity to discuss changes to their own rota if they wish. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.

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Review from Charles G (Son of Resident) published on 29 March 2017 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My Dad first went into The Firs with Alzheimer's and spent about 6 years there. He was treated so well and we were when we went to see him. He passed away there in 2015 and I can't thank the whole home enough for their genuine care and support for the whole time he was there.
My Mum, unfortunately,
became physically unable to look after herself about 4 years ago and I wanted her to be near my Dad. The Firs were so good to them both and really showed a level of care I would want for everyone experiencing this.
I would recommend this care home whole heartedly and would thank them all for what they have done for my parents.
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Review from Laurence F (Husband of Resident) published on 20 March 2017 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very pleasant from first contact. Staff very good at putting us at ease. My wife has settled in well and is treated with kindness and respect by all.
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Review from R D (Husband of Resident) published on 30 November 2015 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Received best of care and attention form the most caring and efficient professional staff.
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Review from P W (Brother of Resident) published on 30 November 2015 Submitted via Postal Card • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The home is excellent and the staff excellent as well, very caring and pleasant.
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Current Review Score: 9.8 (9.839)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.8 (9.839) out of 10 for The Firs is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.8 out of 5 from 38 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 38 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Care Home is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.839 for The Firs is calculated as follows: ( (379 Excellents x 5) + (66 Goods x 4) + (3 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 448 Ratings = 4.839
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for The Firs is based on 38 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the registered maximum number of service users in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Care Home registered for a maximum of 50 service users has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 40 registered maximum number of service users is 8, which has been reached with 38 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Care Home does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Regulatory Rating

Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating

Date: 16 Dec 2022

Overall Good

  • Caring Good
  • Effective Good
  • Responsive Good
  • Safe Good
  • Well-led Good
Care Quality Commission is responsible for the registration and inspection of social care services in England. View Latest Report

Bed Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (10)

Meet the Team (0)

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