The Lakes Care Centre

Updated 2 April 2026

The assessment took place between 9th April and 14th May 2026. This assessment was undertaken to follow up on the enforcement action we had taken during our last visit. During our last visit we found service to be in breach of the regulations regarding person-centred care, safe care and treatment, staffing and governance. During this assessment we found that the service was still in breach regarding person-centred care and governance. We reviewed 22 quality statements as part of this assessment. The Lakes Care Centre is a residential care home. The service is registered to provide accommodation for people who require personal care for up to 62 people across 2 units. Our assessment included two on site visits, speaking with people using the service and their relatives, and talking with staff, including the Registered Manager. We found concerns in several areas. Audits and quality assurance checks were not always effective as these did not pick issues we found during this assessment. People’s medicines were not always managed or administered safely. People did not always receive care and support that was meeting their individual needs. For example, people were not always provided with food they wished to eat. People’s care plans did not always consistently include information about their personal preferences, goals or future wishes, and there was no evidence of people getting involved in their own care planning. We also found shortfalls in provider’s governance and oversight as this was not always effective. People spoken positively about staff who knew them well. We observed staff treating people with dignity, kindness and respect. The provider worked with number of stakeholders and partners to support meeting people’s outcomes. Due to the concerns identified, we have asked the provider to submit an action plan setting out how they will address the areas requiring improvement and the timescales for doing so.

Updated 2 April 2026

People told us they generally received good care and felt staff were committed to supporting them well. Staff demonstrated a clear intention to provide safe and compassionate care, and people spoke positively about their interactions with them.

People reported that staff were usually responsive and helpful. However, some people also told us there were occasions when staffing levels did not feel sufficient, which meant they sometimes had to wait for assistance. This indicated staffing arrangements were not always consistently meeting people’s needs in a timely way.

People told felt able to speak up and raise concerns when needed. However, some also reported experiencing communication difficulties, explaining that staff were not always available to speak with them.

This indicates the provider had not consistently ensured people were informed about how to report concerns or key points of contact, which limited people’s ability to seek timely support.

People and their relatives also raised concerns about personal care needs not being always met or not being provided with nutritious and adequate diet. One relative told us, “My loved one complains a lot about food.”

Since the last inspection, the provider had taken steps to improve engagement with people and seek their views. While this represented progress, feedback received was not always used consistently to drive improvement or enhance outcomes for people. Opportunities to learn from people’s experiences were sometimes missed.

Improvements had been made to care plans and associated documentation since the previous inspection. Despite this, care plans did not always contain sufficient, detailed, or personalised information.

Many remained task‑focused, lacking the depth required to guide staff in delivering fully person‑centred care. This meant staff did not always have access to the information needed to support people in a way that reflected their individual needs, preferences, and routines.