Appletrees Care Home

Updated 22 April 2026

Date of assessment: 2 and 8 June 2026. Appletrees Care Home is a nursing home which provides nursing and personal care and treatment for disease, disorder and injury (TDDI) for up to 46 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. It also provides support to people with learning disabilities and autistic people, people with sensory impairments and physical disabilities. There were 28 people living at the service at the time of our visit.
We carried out this assessment to follow up on enforcement action taken after our assessment in May 2025 and to review compliance with conditions imposed on the provider's registration in March 2026. At the last inspection we found shortfalls with the accuracy of care planning information, daily monitoring documentation and the services overall governance and auditing processes. We looked at 6 quality statements under 3 key questions, safe, effective and well-led. Sufficient improvement had not been achieved, and we found 2 repeated breaches of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.
A manager had been appointed to cover in the absence of the registered manager, and the provider had recruited management consultants to support with making improvements. The service had made some improvements since our last assessment; however, we found further improvements were still needed. We identified some new safety concerns within the environment, including window restrictors not being fitted to all windows and some furniture not being secured to walls, creating a potential tipping risk. Ongoing concerns remained regarding governance arrangements and the quality of care records. In addition, we were not assured that people consistently received their prescribed topical medicines as directed.
In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

Updated 22 April 2026

Feedback received during the assessment was generally positive regarding people's experiences at Appletrees. One relative told us their family member had recently moved into the service, and they had no concerns about the care provided at the time of our assessment. Another relative explained their family member was due to move to an alternative service; however, this decision was based on the new service being closer to family members, allowing for more frequent visits, rather than any concerns about the quality of care at Appletrees. People we spoke with were generally satisfied with their living environment and support. One person told us, "I'm happy with my room and the food's alright." However, they also commented that, "Some of the staff don't listen to you," indicating there may be occasions where people do not always feel fully heard or involved in conversations about their care and support.
During our assessment, we observed that some people remained in their rooms for extended periods and were not consistently supported to access communal areas. This was despite care plans stating people "like to chat to others" and that staff should encourage participation when activities were taking place. As a result, people were at risk of social isolation. We also observed limited activities and interaction throughout the service to keep people stimulated and promote their wellbeing. We discussed these concerns with the manager, who advised they were recruiting a second activities coordinator to increase the opportunities available to people. When we returned on the second day of our assessment, we found that people who had previously remained in their rooms were being supported to spend time in communal areas and interact with others, demonstrating a more proactive approach to reducing the risk of social isolation and promoting people's wellbeing.