- Care home
Applecroft Residential Care Home
We served a warning notice on B & L Property Investments Limited on 07 April 2026 for failing to ensure effective systems and processes were in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service at Applecroft Residential Care Home.
Assessment report published 18 May 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 23 February to 20 March 2026. The service is a residential care home providing support for up to 23 older people, including those living with dementia. At the time of our assessment there were 22 people living at the service.The assessment was carried out due to the length of time since our last rating and the information we held about the service.
We identified several issues where staff had not appropriately followed the provider’s medicines policy and procedures. Whilst the provider completed medicines audits, these were not effective, as they had not identified all the issues found during our assessment.
Overall, staff assessed potential risks to people and took actions to mitigate these risks Staff considered people’s wishes and choices as part of this planning. However, some records relating to risk management required additional information to help guide staff. The provider ensured staff were trained to safeguard people and staff knew how to report concerns should they need to.
The provider had staffing vacancies and often used agency staff to cover staffing gaps. The management team were trying to recruit staff. Overall, there were sufficient staff to respond to people’s needs. Staff received an induction and regular refresher training. The registered manager ensured staff were supported through regular supervision and appraisal meetings. The provider had safe recruitment procedures in place.
Staff used assessments to form the basis of people’s care plans, which were reviewed monthly. Overall, these contained individualised information about people’s care and support needs. However, some care plans did not have up-to-date information and would benefit from some further information to help guide staff.
Staff generally involved people in discussions about their care and support needs. However, where restrictions were placed upon people who lacked the capacity to consent, staff had not always recorded mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions, as required.
The provider’s governance systems were not sufficiently robust to effectively monitor and improve the quality of the service. Audits had not identified and/or addressed all the issues we identified. The registered manager was open and responsive to our feedback; they took some immediate actions. They had already identified and were making some improvements to aspects of the service.
This is the 5th inspection where we have found the provider to be in breach of the legal regulations relating to good governance. We also found a further breach of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment.
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.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives were positive about their experience of living at Applecroft Residential Care Home. Comments included, “It’s very good in here, they’re very kind” and “I’ve no complaints, I couldn’t do any better.” Feedback indicated staff treated people with kindness and had built good relationships with them. People appeared comfortable and at ease within the service. People told us they felt safe.
Staff respected people’s wishes and they advocated for them to ensure their choices were respected. The registered manager promoted an inclusive approach and met people’s diverse needs.
Staff offered some activities to people, however we found these were minimal and some people felt there wasn’t much going on due to staff shortages. The registered manager said they planned to focus on this, as well as building better links with the community. People were supported to maintain contact with their loved ones and visitors were made to feel welcome.
Aspects of the service needed refurbishment. The provider confirmed arrangements had been made to replace some flooring and they had a rolling plan to update and decorate.
People knew the registered manager well and felt able to raise any concerns or issues with them. Staff were in regular contact with peoples’ relatives and kept them informed of any changes. People were given the opportunity to share their views and give feedback.
We received positive feedback from other professionals about the service, which indicated staff were proactive and responsive to people’s changing needs.