- Care home
Amberwood Care Home Limited
Assessment report published 25 August 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Amberwood Care Home is a family run residential home, providing accommodation and personal care for up to 44 people. The service is based over 2 floors, and people had access to an internal garden with seating areas.
The service supports older people aged 65 and over and people with physical disabilities. There were 41 people using the service at the time of the assessment.
We carried out this assessment on 27 July 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.
People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely. People using the service reported feeling safe, and relatives spoke positively about the standard of care, describing the home as “well managed, well run” and that their loved ones were “well looked after.”
The home was clean and well-maintained, with no hazards identified. Appropriate safety checks were carried out, and equipment was kept in good working order and regularly maintained. A relative described the home as, “The place is lovely and spotless,” and a person using the service said, “You would not better a place for cleanliness.” This reflected a consistently high standard of housekeeping and maintained across the service, contributing to a safe and pleasant environment for people to live in. However, we observed wheelchairs not always having their brakes fully applied. We raised this with the provider and immediate action was taken to address this.
Care plans were detailed, covering people’s need and were supported by risk assessments for those with health conditions. However, we identified some inconsistencies and found some care records required improving to ensure care records were clear, consistent and accurately recorded. This represented a small area for improvement rather than a current risk to people’s safety.
During the inspection, staff were observed supporting people in a kind and unhurried manner, explaining what they were doing and providing reassurance whilst helping people with mobility and equipment. Staff promoted independence across every aspect of people’s lives, helping them to live as they wish. However, some feedback indicated that staff occasionally used their first language, and a small number were perceived as rushed when providing support. A few people also reported delays in call bell response times. This has been identified as an area for ongoing monitoring to ensure people’s needs are met consistently.
Staff consistently described the training and support available to them as positive. Staff understood their role in protecting people from abuse and knew how to report concerns and who to report them to. Staff at all levels shared the provider’s vision of person-centred care, choice, independence and inclusion and described feeling as part of a team regardless of their individual roles. The registered manager and their team had created an open culture in which everyone’s thoughts and feelings were valued. Staff consistently shared that the management team were supportive and approachable. Many positive comments were made, for example staff told us, “[name] is always helpful and supportive, and another staff member described the relationship between staff as, “very positive, they can’t fault anyone” and “the staff team are like one big family.”
The service supported people to have choice and control over their lives, placing them at the centre of planning and reviewing their support. People were able to choose which activities they wanted to take part in, what they would like to eat and what they wished to wear each day. People also had control over their own routines, including what time they got up in the morning and what time they went to bed at night. Relatives told us they received copies of their loved one’s care plans and that they were kept informed and spoken to whenever any changes were made. A relative told us, “[name] can no longer use the rotunda and had to be hoisted, and this has been changed in their care plan.” This demonstrated that care plans were kept up to date in response to changes in people’s needs. However, as noted this was not always consistent across all care records.
Risk was managed safely and proportionately across the service. Medication was handled safely and in an organised way, with robust oversight and effective liaison with other health professionals. People received their medication as and when needed and staff were seen administering medication safely and using a person-centred approach.
Stakeholders spoke positively about how the staff team worked with them. A health professional said, “staff had extremely good knowledge of residents, everyone knows everyone, the personal information they [staff] know is beyond the next level.”
People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.
People's experience of this service
Overall people spoke positively about their experience of the service and the care they received. People described their experience of living at Amberwood Care home as positive, saying they felt safe, comfortable and well looked after. During our visit, the atmosphere in the home was calm, welcoming and relaxed. People appeared settled and at ease in the communal area, while those who preferred quieter surroundings were supported to spend time in their own rooms.
People and relatives were complimentary of how staff undertook their roles and the kindness and compassion they demonstrated whilst doing so. Staff were mostly described as, “kind and caring”. One relative told us, “They really go out of their way to make [name] feel at ease in these circumstances.”
We saw staff supporting and engaging with people in a respectful, compassionate and unhurried manner. Staff talked people through what they were doing, offering reassurance and clear verbal prompts when helping people with mobility. Call bells were answered promptly throughout our visit, demonstrating good staff responsiveness across the home. However, some people using the service told us they had occasionally experienced delays in having their call bells answered. This feedback was shared with the provider, who took action to address the concerns.
People and their relatives were given opportunities to provide feedback about their experiences of the service. Any concerns that had been raised were investigated properly; action was taken to resolve them. This reflected in the feedback we gathered during the inspection, including confirmation from one relative who told us, “The resident’s meetings have resolved minor issues and staff do act on things.” This demonstrated the provider listened to feedback and used it to make meaningful improvements to people’s experiences.
People were provided with weekly menus and activities schedules, giving them advanced notice as to what was on offer. Mealtimes were well organised and responsive to people’s needs. Staff checked people’s preference, offered people a drink and supported people at a pace that suited them. People had a choice of two meals, along with a selection of desserts, and could request an alternative if they preferred. They were also able to request food between meals if they wished. A relative told us their loved one, “Eats really well and the food is good.” The food looked appetising, well presented, appropriately portioned and visually appealing, with a good variety of colours and textures contributing to a positive dining experience. During the inspection, it was one person’s birthday, and a large homemade cake had been prepared to mark the occasion. Staff and people interacted warmly throughout, creating a pleasant and sociable atmosphere.
People were supported to take part in activities they enjoyed and had access to several lounges, allowing them to choose where they sat. During our visit we saw a range of activities taking place; a puzzle was set out in the communal area for anyone to join in, people were reading magazines, playing dominoes and painting bird feeders they had made the previous day. There was a fully stocked library, along with activity books and crosswords available for people to use. The response from people and relatives about the activities on offer was overwhelmingly positive. One person told us, “The activities staff I can’t praise them highly enough for all the things they organise” and another person told us, “The activities are excellent” and another said, “it’s nice to get out because I see the world.” This showed the significant impact activities had on people’s wellbeing, helping them stay engaged, stimulated and connected to life outside of the home.