• Care Home
  • Care home

Platters Farm Lodge

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Highfield Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0EQ (01634) 377579

Provided and run by:
Strode Park Foundation For People With Disabilities

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Our current view of the service

Good

Updated 1 October 2025

Date of assessment 15 October 2025. Platters Farm Lodge provides accommodation and personal care for up to 43 people across three separate wings, each of which has separate adapted facilities. One of the wings specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. At the time of inspection there were 35 people living at the service.

This was a responsive inspection based on the length of time since the last inspection. There were robust processes for auditing and oversight of aspects of the service and care delivery. The management team were both capable and knowledgeable about the service and the people living there. Staff knew people's care needs and how best to support them, feedback from staff and relatives evidenced this. There were relevant risk assessments in place for people, and these were viewed in care plans for identified needs. Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The service were implementing improvements to ensure people received a consistently high standard of care. For example, comprehensive care plans where available in people's rooms enabling community healthcare professionals to contribute to them and promoting effective communication between services. Staff told us, “The folders in people’s rooms contain everything you would need to know about someone if they were going into hospital or to an appointment. It really helps the staff to have all that information to hand.” At the time of inspection there was not a registered manager but an interim one and the provider was conducting interviews to fill this post. We received positive feedback from people and their relatives about the high level of care and support they received. The rehabilitation unit provided a safe positive environment for people to regain their confidence and independence. Community health care professionals told us, “We work with the home to rehabilitate people. It’s not just people’s physical well-being it’s their emotional well-being and confidence they need to gain as well. Staff work well with us. There is an environment here where we can really improve people’s outcomes.”

People's experience of the service

Updated 1 October 2025

People and their relatives spoke positively about the management team, that they were approachable and visible. People told us they enjoyed living or staying at the service and enjoyed the activities. On the day we visited we observed people engaging in activities, singing, dancing and laughing. Relatives felt at ease and told us that the communication with the home was good, and they felt involved in their loved one’s care and support planning. People and relatives felt the staff were kind and knew what was important to them. One relative told us, "I am happy that she is here. She is well cared for here." One person told us, "I'm here for rehabilitation. I've been here about just over a week. It's wonderful here. I’m very thankful I've been moved here." The home had good links with the community and people were supported to access the community. For example, people who were staying short term were supported to attend their weekly day centres as this was important to them. People told us how the staff enabled them and supported them in a way they choose. One person told us, "I watch TV, read magazines. I went to breakfast club yesterday and met a nice lady and we had a chat. There was a singer yesterday. Staff let me know what is going on and then I decide what to do."