Stable Steps Care Centre

Updated 2 June 2025

The inspection began on 30 June and concluded on 16 July 2025. Stable Steps Care Centre is a care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 50 people. The service provides support to older and younger adults and people living with dementia and other cognitive impairments. At the time of our inspection there were 44 people living at the home and almost half of these people were people under the age of 65 years. The registered manager told us that 95% of people at the home were living with dementia or other cognitive impairments.

The inspection was carried out to follow up on the warning notice issued to the registered manager for a continued breach relating to person centred care, along with other breaches found at the last inspection relating to governance, safe recruitment and insufficient staffing levels.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to person centred care. Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. We found concerns relating to how people’s individual needs were met, how their preferences for care were reflected and how care was appropriate for each person, particularly in relation to people who received an enhanced level of funded support due to their conditions.

The provider was in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. We found people’s medicines were not always managed safely and risks to people were not always managed safely and effectively.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe recruitment. Enough improvement had been found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to staffing. Improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation. We found there were now enough staff to meet people’s needs as there were several people living at the home who received an enhanced level of funded support. We received positive feedback from staff about the management of the service and the support provided. However, we were not assured of the efficacy of the e-learning training provided to staff and staff told us they had to do this training in their own time.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to governance. Sufficient improvements were not found at this inspection, and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. Although we found improvements in staffing levels and safe recruitment, the provider had failed to ensure they consistently provided safe care and treatment and had not made all the necessary improvements to concerns found at previous inspections. These included medicines management, risk management, safe environments, person-centred care and overall governance of the service.

Stable Steps Care Centre has now been rated requires improvement for the last three inspections and at every inspection since their registration with CQC. This meant there was a of a history of failing to respond adequately to serious concerns raised by CQC.

In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to some of the concerns found at this assessment.

Updated 2 June 2025

People were supported by staff who were generally kind and caring, and we observed some positive interactions between staff and people. One person commented, “If I get upset the staff sort it out. The staff are very obliging. They work very hard.” A relative commented, “The staff are lovely with him and know what it takes to look after him.”

While people expressed general satisfaction with their care and treatment, our inspection found some elements of care did not meet the expected standards. Staff were not always effective in supporting and improving people’s quality of life, particularly those who had complex needs or became distressed even when extra staff were available to support the individual. We had concerns about staff’s ability to provide safe care and meaningful support. The registered manager told us they focused on safety for people. This impacted on people’s experience and freedom, due to a reduction in privacy as a result of the constant supervision in place for some people.

People had limited opportunity to access the outside garden space and were not encouraged to do this. There was limited evidence that people, especially those with the most complex needs, were supported to access the community. One person commented, “They supervise me with everything. I don’t like the restrictions, I can’t go out.”

People did not always feel their needs were responded to in a timely way with one person commenting, “I use the bell sometimes. They come when they can, it depends on how busy they are.” Feedback from families indicated they found staff were mostly responsive to requests. One visitor commented, “Communication is good, if there is anything they ring me immediately such as if [relative] is ill, or they need some new clothes.”

There was limited evidence of how people or their legal representatives were involved in making decisions around their care. Activities were available for people to engage with but it was not clear these had been designed to meet individual needs. One person commented, “The activities are simple ones like games and throwing bean bags and skittles.” Records did not reflect how people cared for in their bedrooms were supported to access meaningful activities and stimulation. We observed the activity team were kind and worked to engage people in these games during our inspection.