- Care home
Norton Lees Hall & Lodge
Assessment report published 15 September 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 14 July to 4 August 2026. The service is a care home providing personal and nursing care to older people, younger people and people living with dementia. The service can support up to 80 people. At the time of our assessment 73 people were using the service.
A new provider registered the service in November 2024 and the rating of requires improvement was inherited from the old provider. We carried out an assessment looking at all quality statements to be able to provide an overall rating for the service. Risks associated with people’s care were mainly identified, but not always managed, to keep people safe. We found care plans did not always reflect people’s current needs and lacked detail to be able to move and handle people safely. We identified concerns with the environment and infection control. Following our visit, we requested an action plan from the provider to ensure improvements were made.
There appeared to be sufficient staff available to meet people's needs. However, we saw care staff carrying out numerous non-care duties, which impacted on the support people received. All staff we spoke with raised concerns regarding staffing levels. They were expected to do cleaning, meal service, clearing and laying tables and some laundry duties. Staff told us staffing levels were not suitable to keep people safe. Staff did not always encourage people to maximise their independence and promote their health and well-being. We saw staff lacked direction; were task orientated and did not always work together as a team.
There was lack of governance and oversight, which had not identified shortfalls. Staff did not feel listened to, respected or valued. Staff felt their wellbeing was not considered, and many told us they were very stressed and anxious due to the workload expected of them.
A new manager had been appointed, and a new operations manager was overseeing the service. They were both aware of all the issues we had identified and were developing a robust action plan, improved governance systems, supervision systems for staff, training and mentoring, and better communication to address the issues and drive improvements.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with people and their relatives, and most people felt safe living at the service and said staff were kind and caring. One person said, “On the whole they [staff] are fine, a couple seem a bit uninterested but they’re mostly okay, they’re kind.” We observed staff were kind and caring when they interacted with people, but predominantly they were task focused. People’s independence and control was not promoted, and we found restrictions in place, for example, regarding people’s requests for cigarettes and lack of access to some bedrooms.
People and relatives, we spoke with, all raised concerns regarding staffing levels. They said staff were often rushed or not available. Everyone we spoke with said there were not enough staff. One relative said, “[Name] was sat over 20 minutes waiting to be taken off the toilet.” Another said,” They [staff] don’t get [name] to the toilet on time. They have had to wait half an hour at times.” A person said, “They are absolutely short staffed.”
People did not always feel listened to. For example, 1 relative told us they had raised numerous issues about dentures and hearing aids, which were still not resolved. There was a lack of relative and resident meetings, so people were not able to give feedback or raise any issues.
Relatives were aware a new manager had been appointed and were hopeful this would improve the situation. One relative said, “I know they are arranging a relatives and residents meeting, which will be good.” Another relative said, “I do feel I am being listened to more by the new manager. I have had eventually had a response to my concern, which was raised with the previous manager.”