Stambridge Meadows Care Home

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

Stambridge Meadows Care Home is a care home registered to provide personal care to up to 49 older people, some of whom maybe living with dementia. The service does not provide nursing care. There were 30 people living at the service at the time of assessment. The accommodation for people was over 2 floors with access to a large garden and easy access to the local community. We undertook an unannounced assessment on 16 April to 7 May 2026, with onsite activity on the 16 and 30 April 2026.

This is the first assessment since a new provider has taken over the service. We assessed the quality statements from all the key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. At this assessment we identified 2 breaches of regulations relating to safe care and treatment and good governance.

During our assessment we identified infection prevention and environmental risks had not always been effectively managed. Despite this, the service did appear clean, and staff had been trained in infection control and had access to appropriate person protective equipment (PPE).

Care plans were in place and did contain risk assessments, however, records and charts did not always provide clear assurances risks had been appropriately monitored, mitigated or escalated. Care plans we viewed did contain people’s personal information and histories. People and their relatives were being encouraged to be involved in care planning.

We found there was enough staff to support people’s needs and peoples feedback also reflected this. Training records showed staff had completed training to safely carry out their roles, with updates provided to ensure their skills remained current. Staff knew how to recognise and report safeguarding concerns. People’s relatives spoke positively about the visibility and support from the registered manager. Staff described a positive culture and felt able to raise concerns and supported by the management team.

Action plans were in place, and some improvements had been identified and made, however, concerns identified during this assessment showed governance systems were not fully effective. Oversight gaps meant care, records and risk management were not always consistent, exposing people to avoidable risks.
 

People's experience of this service

During this assessment we spoke with people who lived at the service, their relatives, staff, the management team and sought feedback from external healthcare professionals.

People told us they felt safe, and relatives also raised no concerns about safety. One relative said, “My [Relative] is safe and has been at the home for just under 2 years. I’m happy with the care.” Another shared, “[Relative] is definitely safe. The service has secure, locked doors and carries out regular fire alarm checks. When people are in communal areas, staff are always present. I’m happy with the care, they are very caring and listen to [relative].”

People and their relatives gave consistently positive feedback about staff. One person said, “The carers are all very, very good,” while another described staff as friendly and attentive, adding they “soon cotton on to what you like.” Relatives shared similar views, describing staff as kind, caring and polite. Comments included, “[Relative] has never said anything bad about them, she likes them,” and “The home has a pleasant environment, and the carers are kind and attentive.” Another relative said, “99% of the carers are amazing, friendly, lovely and nothing is too much bother.”