Higher Park Lodge

Updated 3 June 2025

We visited the care home on 9 and 12 June 2025. We carried out this assessment in response to concerns raised regarding medicines and infection prevention and control. Higher Park Lodge is a residential care home providing support for up to 34 people. At the time of our visits, there were 27 people using the service. The service is a residential service providing support to older people and adults living with dementia and sensory impairment.

We assessed all 33 Quality Statements under all 5 Key Questions of: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led. This assessment showed areas of good practice, as well as areas that needed to improve. Our overall rating for this service is Requires Improvement.

The provider was in breach of 7 legal regulations relating to the maintenance of the premises and equipment in the home, the governance of the service, the staffing of the service,​ the safe recruitment of staff, person-centred care, safe care and treatment, and not maintaining people’s dignity.

The facilities and equipment in the home were not clean or well maintained and did not always meet people’s needs. By our second visit, the situation had improved, but further improvement was still necessary.

There were not enough staff, and we were not shown evidence that staff had the right skills and training to either meet peoples’ needs or been safely recruited. However, during our assessment the number of care delivery hours were being increased, and the deployment of staff across the home was being changed. These changes had not been embedded when we ended our assessment.

There was no culture of continuous improvement or effective management. The provider’s audit and oversight processes had not identified multiple issues or improved the quality of the service.

Care was not always to an adequate standard. This included; the necessary regular assessment of peoples’ needs, regular measurement of weight, the planning of all of peoples’ needs, for example their social and emotional needs, the recording of all ofpeople’s care effectively, for example the effective maintenance of chart records such as records of regular turning of people who were not able to move themselves.

People were not always treated with kindness and compassion or had their privacy and dignity protected. The service did not always respond to people’s concerns.

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 3 June 2025

People and those important to them were not always positive about peoples’ experience of living in this care home. But people said they felt safe. A relative said, “It’s not the best, it’s not the worst.”

The home was not kept clean. One person said, “The toilets really smell of urine, it’s a really strong smell.”

Staff were described as kind and caring but there were not always enough staff to meet people’s needs. One person told us, “They (the staff) are restricted in what they can do due to staff shortages, and (so) everything takes longer.” Another person said, “Call bells can take a time to answer. Evenings and weekends can be difficult. They (the staff) are too busy to have a chat.”

One person said, “I’m not moved regularly, and they put cream on to help my skin. I would tell them if I felt unwell, I don’t think they would spot it. I have to explain to them why I am unwell, and they will get the GP for me.”

People were not always respected, their privacy and dignity maintained, and were not always listened to when they had concerns. One person said, “They are not equipped to deal with dementia patients. I found someone asleep in my bed.” Another person who uses their bed at all times said, “I’ve had people wandering into my room. I just tell them to go.” Another person said, “I complained about the noise, there are always doors slamming. Nothing has changed.”

Peoples’ need for a full quality of life was not supported. One person said, “They don’t take me out, I’d like some fresh air, but I’m stuck here.”