- Care home
Restgarth Care Home
Report from 29 August 2025 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of inspection: 24 September 2025 and 1 October 2025
The service is a residential care home providing support for up to 32 older people some of whom may be living with dementia. This was the first inspection since the service had been registered with the provider.
There was no effective or consistent management at the service resulting in extremely poor oversight of people’s care. There was no manager in post. Managers from the provider’s 2 sister homes were supporting the service remotely but did not visit regularly. The deputy manager did not always have the time needed to carry out necessary managerial tasks such as reviewing care plans.
The provider had not established a good learning culture. Action taken when things went wrong did not mitigate the risk of recurrence. We identified examples of poor care which were repeated despite managers being aware of the shortfalls. Audits were not carried out to monitor the service.
Care plans and risk assessments were missing or had not been regularly reviewed to ensure they remained an accurate reflection of people’s needs.
There were staff vacancies at the service and staff numbers were not always sufficient to meet people’s needs. Staff were not recruited safely, lacked training and were not receiving support through regular supervision.
We identified breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, consent, dignity and respect, staffing, recruitment and management of the service.
This service has been rated inadequate and is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.
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.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.
People's experience of this service
Whilst people and relatives were positive about the quality of care, this did not reflect the evidence we found during this assessment. There was lack of meaningful activity available and people were left for long periods with little to occupy them. People were not treated with dignity and respect. Call bell logs showed people did not always receive support when they needed it.
Most relatives felt the activities and overall level of stimulation for people needed improvement, particularly for those who stayed in their rooms.
However, relatives told us the service kept them updated about any changes in their family members’ needs. They commented on the cleanliness of the service with one saying, “It always smells nice there, you don’t really notice bad odours, it's clean, tidy and warm.”