- Care home
Christopher Grange Residential Care
Assessment report published 27 March 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 31 October, 6, 11 and 24 November 2025. Christopher Grange is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to a maximum of 78 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our assessment, there were 57 people living at the home.
We undertook this assessment following concerns we received about the management of risk. We found the provider was in breach of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, person centred care, nutrition and hydration, safeguarding and governance.
Systems intended to protect people from harm were ineffective and lacked coordination. The provider and registered manager did not have sufficient oversight to ensure care was delivered safely, promptly, or in a way that reflected people’s individual needs. People were not consistently treated with dignity, respect, kindness, or compassion. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were not routinely reviewed or managed in line with their risk assessments, including risks associated with pressure wounds, poor nutrition, and dehydration.
Staffing arrangements were not robust enough to ensure people’s safety. High reliance on agency staff affected continuity of care and meant people’s needs were not always met. Staff did not always have access to accurate or detailed information to enable them to understand people’s preferences and support needs. Not all staff had completed mandatory training, and competency assessments in key areas had not been consistently undertaken.
Parts of the environment and some equipment were unsafe or inadequately maintained, increasing the risk of harm. Routine checks and audits failed to identify or address ongoing environmental and infection prevention and control (IPC) issues.
Medicines were not managed in a way that ensured people’s safety. Governance and quality monitoring systems were ineffective and did not support continuous improvement. There were no reliable processes to identify concerns, take timely action, or review outcomes. Feedback from people, relatives, and staff was not systematically sought or used to inform service improvement.
In instances where CQC has 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. This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure 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.
People's experience of this service
People and their relatives gave mixed feedback about the care and support they received.Family members and people described staff as, “Lovely and very sociable.”However,they did raise concerns over the standard of décor in bedrooms and lounge areas, call bell wait times and lack of visible managers and actions taken following complaints or feedback provided to the management.
One family member told us,“I rarely see and have not spoken to the management, and I think that standards are not as good as they used to be when the home was run by the sisters.” Another family member told us, “We have a meeting with the managers every 2 months but if we ask for any changes, nothing seems to change.” However, family members told us communication with the care staff was good and they were able to visit any time, without restrictions.
People told usthey sometimeshadto waitto receive the care they needed. One person told us, “I have to wait a while until they have the staff available”andanother person stated, “We do not go outside as there are not enough staff to take residents out as we are in wheelchairs.” A family member told us, “The lounge carpets need cleaning, but [relative] bedroom is kept clean, it looks quite tired and needs refurbishing.”
Family members and people raised concerns over the lack of staff and heavy reliance of agency staff. One person told us, “I can only get a shower once a week depending on if there are enough staff and whether they can fit me in,” another person told us, “The night staff need extra training as they are often agency staff and the permanent staff have to oversee and make sure they are doing things right.” A family member told us, “The carers are lovely, but they could do with more staff, they have no time to spend with the residents.”
While people and families expressed general satisfaction with their care and treatment, our assessment foundthe quality of thecareand supportdid not meet the expected standards.