- Care home
Amberley Care Home
Assessment report published 19 March 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 25 November to 18 December 2025. The site visits took place on 25 November 3, 4, and 10 December 2025. This was a routine inspection to check the providers compliance with the previous breaches of regulations. Amberley Care home is a residential care home providing support to older and younger people and people who live with dementia for up to 25 people. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people living at the home.
Since our last inspection we found the service had not made the required improvements to meet the breaches of regulations and improve the standard of care provided to people. We found there were 2 continued breaches in relation to risk management and good governance. We also identified new breaches in relation to person centred care, consent, safeguarding, and recruitment.
The provider did not ensure people’s individual needs and preferences were met. Systems were not in place to ensure people rights under the Mental Capacity Act were met. Risks to people were not managed safely and lessons were not learnt to reduce future risks to people. Staff had insufficient guidance for the management of people’s known health conditions and risks. People’s medicines were not always managed safely. The provider did not follow their own or the Local Authority safeguarding procedures to ensure people were safeguarded from harm. The provider did not take timely action to ensure the environment was safe. The provider had not ensured staff received training and support to enable them to have the skills and knowledge for their role. The provider did not always follow safe recruitment practices.
The provider’s quality assurance and auditing systems were inconsistent and not effective. They had failed to identify the issues highlighted during this inspection. Systems to ensure care was provided safely and appropriately were not always robust.
Staff did their best to support people and to provide care which met their needs. Most staff felt supported in their roles. The provider had recently made changes and started investing in the home. The provider took some immediate actions to address the safety concerns we raised during our inspection.
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.
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
Whilst people and relatives were positive about the quality of care, this did not reflect the evidence we found during this assessment.
Most people and relatives told us they were happy about the way staff supported them. People said they felt safe, and relatives were confident staff treated people safely with dignity and respect. Relatives confirmed staff kept them informed about their relative’s well being and when any incidents had occurred. However, people and relatives told us they were not always involved in the planning or reviews of their care and had not seen a care plan.
People and their relatives confirmed their feedback was not consistently sought. Most people said they received care from staff who treated them as individuals and they had regular care staff, who were available when needed.
Most people and their relatives felt the activities and overall level of stimulation for people needed a lot of improvement, particularly for those who stayed in their rooms. Some relatives told us more choices of food could be provided as people appeared to have the same food offered. Some people and relatives told us some areas of the home could do with improving as they were ‘outdated’.
People and relatives felt able to complain and most felt they would be listened to. Relatives and people knew who the registered manager was, and who they described as ‘approachable’. People and their relatives also knew who the providers were.