
As a family we are very pleased with the level of care she receivesJoy B(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The staff at The Firs have been incredibly kind and helped dad to adjustM W(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The management are very approachable and very welcoming. The home has a very homely feel.J M(Brother of Resident/Service User)

As a family we are very pleased with the level of care she receivesJoy B(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The staff at The Firs have been incredibly kind and helped dad to adjustM W(Daughter of Resident/Service User)

The management are very approachable and very welcoming. The home has a very homely feel.J M(Brother of Resident/Service User)

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. As well as permanent and long term care, The Firs offers convalescence, trial and respite stays.
Anchor offers dementia care and provides on-going training for staff to ensure their approach always reflects best practice.
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 TypesMild Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "mild dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Memory problems such as misplacing items and not be able to recall recent events (however, in some forms of dementia a person's memory may be unchanged)
- Difficulties thinking through problems and planning, making decisions
- Language and communication issues such as finding it difficult to recall the appropriate word in a conversation or following a conversation
- Poor orientation, getting lost in areas previously familiar to them
- Difficulty judging distances (more falls than usual)
- Changes in their normal mood including anxiety and depression
- In certain types of dementia, personality and behaviour changes may be present alongside or instead of issues with memory or concentration.
Moderate Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "moderate dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Worsened memory problems. Not always recognising own family members and friends. Repeating the same questions over and over again
- Worsened language and communication issues, forgetting what they are saying mid-sentence. Not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- More frequent confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Advanced Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "severe dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Severe memory problems. Not recognising family members and friends. Not being able to recall their own name
- Severe language and communication issues, not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- Severe confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Verbally or physically aggressive behaviour
If your loved one displays this type of behaviour you may need a care home that has specially trained staff. Verbal/physical aggression is often defined:
- Consistent shouting and screaming
- Verbal abuse
- Physical abuse
How we define Dementia Care Types
Mild Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "mild dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Memory problems such as misplacing items and not be able to recall recent events (however, in some forms of dementia a person's memory may be unchanged)
- Difficulties thinking through problems and planning, making decisions
- Language and communication issues such as finding it difficult to recall the appropriate word in a conversation or following a conversation
- Poor orientation, getting lost in areas previously familiar to them
- Difficulty judging distances (more falls than usual)
- Changes in their normal mood including anxiety and depression
- In certain types of dementia, personality and behaviour changes may be present alongside or instead of issues with memory or concentration.
Moderate Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "moderate dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Worsened memory problems. Not always recognising own family members and friends. Repeating the same questions over and over again
- Worsened language and communication issues, forgetting what they are saying mid-sentence. Not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- More frequent confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Advanced Dementia
Someone living with our definition of "severe dementia" might experience some or all of the following:
- Severe memory problems. Not recognising family members and friends. Not being able to recall their own name
- Severe language and communication issues, not being able to understand what someone else is saying
- Severe confusion, e.g. about the time of day or where they are, including their own home
- Apathy, depression and anxiety
- Believing things that aren't true (paranoia)
- Frequent hallucinations
- Lack of emotional control, quick to anger, fearfulness, sadness
- Loss of inhibition
- Difficulties sleeping or waking during the night and behaving as though it is daytime - loss of circadian rhythm.
Verbally or physically aggressive behaviour
If your loved one displays this type of behaviour you may need a care home that has specially trained staff. Verbal/physical aggression is often defined:
- Consistent shouting and screaming
- Verbal abuse
- Physical abuse
How we define 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
Fees can vary depending on care needs and other factors. Colleagues at The Firs will be happy to discuss our weekly fees with you and what our fees include.
The price(s) shown are provided by the care home. Contact The Firs for full pricing details and T&Cs.
Contact The Firs to confirm what's included and get a personalised quote:
Funding Types Accepted
- Self-Funding (Private)
- Local Authority with Top-up
- Local Authority
- NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
Good to Know
Group / Owner
- Anchor
- Voluntary / Not for Profit Owned
Person in charge
- Colleen Farrow (Manager)
Local Authority / Social Services
Admission Information
- Mixed (no single-gender units)
- Ages 65+
Care Home Design/Build
- Purpose Built: Yes
- Last Refurbishment: 2006
Room Information
- Single Rooms (40)
- 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 (143)
The Firs has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.851) out of 10, based on 29 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time The Firs has 143 reviews.
Unable to fault anything with this home. The staff are extremely helpful and professional.
We find The Firs a really friendly home. The rooms are really comfortable and nice and clean, very nicely decorated. And all the Carers are really welcoming and caring. We have been around when food has been served, and it looks quite delicious, one day it was prawn salad, one day was chicken goujons with croquette potatoes, each night there is a good selection available. There is always soup, mixed sandwiches, cake. In fact, I would have been tempted myself. The Carers are very welcoming, we can as visitors help ourselves at any time to coffee, teas or soft drinks. My Sister-in-Law has seemed to have settled in well.
Mum is being cared for well, she eats and drinks really well now. The staff always tell me if there's a problem and how Mum is doing.
Lovely environment and friendly staff. No nasty smells and very clean. All round professional set up.
The Firs is very homely and welcoming. It provides excellent home cooked food with a choice of menus each day. Local churches go in and take services on a regular basis. Excellent activities planned and my only concern i.e that the shifts were changed from 8hrs to 12hrs and I feel that is far too long when you are caring for residents with dementia. This has also meant that staff have left.
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on The Firs . We endeavour to ensure every aspect of our homes are of a high standard and always aim to rectify any issues as soon as possible
I have always found the staff to be friendly and attentive towards the residents. The home itself is kept clean and tidy. The decorations are seasonal and changed regularly with the help of the residents who are encouraged to take part in weekly craft activities. The home and grounds are spacious and easy to move around even in a wheelchair.
The care of my mother is professional but also caring. They managed to cope when she was having a bad patch and behaving in a very challenging way. Now she is much happier and they do very well with her basic needs. Also activities and fun things to do.
I have only been twice but I can already see that this is a very nice place and yesterday the hall was full up with a 'music man' who was very good and got some singing and the rest of their attention.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Always extremely good, helpful staff and my cousin is well looked after here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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.
Regulatory Rating
Care Quality Commission (CQC) Rating
Date: 16 December 2022Good
- CaringGood
- EffectiveGood
- ResponsiveGood
- SafeGood
- Well-ledGood
Inspection ratings
We rate most services according to how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led they are, using four levels:
- Outstanding - The service is performing exceptionally well.
- Good - The service is performing well and meeting our expectations.
- Requires Improvement - The service isn't performing as well as it should and we have told the service how it must improve.
- Inadequate - The service is performing badly and we've taken action against the person or organisation that runs it.
- Not rated - we have not yet rated this area of the service, this is normally because the assessments we have carried out have been focused on other key questions.
Bed Vacancies
Please contact us for latest vacancies.
News (4) & Events (0)
- 03 Jun 2026
Resident Flora Green celebrated her 100th birthday at The Firs care home in Felixstowe on 17 May, surrounded by family. Flora, who has lived at the Anchor care home for...
- 19 Dec 2025
Residents and colleagues at Anchor care homes across Suffolk are embracing the festive spirit. From crafting Christmas decorations and singing carols, to decorating trees and baking festive treats, each activity...
- 22 May 2025
Anchor’s The Firs care home in Felixstowe is celebrating the opening of its new Namaste Room, a multi-sensory room to enhance the wellbeing of residents, including those living with dementia....
There are no upcoming events for The Firs.
Accreditations
There are no accreditations posted yet for The Firs.
Meet the Team (0)
There are no Team Members posted yet.
Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of carehome.co.uk. Please contact The Firs to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. The Firs has an Enhanced Service -more info.