Stonedale Lodge Care Home

This focused assessment was carried out to follow up on previous concerns.

We carried out site visits to the home on 12 and 19 February 2026, with the remainder of the assessment being conducted offsite. We assessed 20 quality statements from the key questions safe, caring and well-led.

Systems for managing accidents and incidents were not used consistently, leading to incomplete records, limited analysis and insufficient follow‑up action. This remained a repeated concern from the previous inspection. While some infection prevention and control improvements were noted, some risks remained, including unsecured clinical waste and unclean equipment such as wheelchairs and falls mats. Environmental safety processes were inconsistently applied, with gaps in daily walkarounds and incomplete visitor sign‑in procedures.

Medicines management showed some improvement, yet further work was required. We found delays in administering time‑critical medicines, unclear topical creams guidance, gaps in monitoring for people at risk of hypoglycaemia, and administration practices did not follow manufacturer instructions.

Although staff were caring in their approach, staffing arrangements did not always enable timely support. Morning routines were affected by staffing levels, and care records often contained retrospective entries due to workload pressures and limited access to recording devices.

Care planning remained inconsistent, with incomplete sections, conflicting information and ineffective audits. Governance systems did not reliably identify, or address known or repeated issues. While there had been efforts to improve engagement, some staff felt meetings and supervision did not support meaningful change.

The provider had made some progress since the last inspection, including strengthening aspects of infection prevention and control and improving elements of medicines management. Staff interactions with people were generally kind and respectful, and some improvements to engagement processes had been introduced. However, these positive developments were not yet embedded or sufficient to ensure the consistent delivery of safe, person‑centred or well‑led care.

Leadership oversight had not ensured effective risk management, reliable record‑keeping or consistently safe care.

The provider remains in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.

The provider was previously in breach of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. The provider remained in breach of these legal regulations.

Enforcement action is already in place, and therefore no further action will be taken at this time.