Highstone Mews Care Home
Barnsley, S70
NursingDementia
Rated 6 years agocare home
CQC report explained · a nursing home, run by Strong Life Care
Earls Lodge Care Home
Queen Elizabeth Road, Wakefield, WF1 4AA
Goodpublished 19 November 2025, 9 months ago
Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, May 2024
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, responsive care but serious weaknesses in risk management, safeguarding records and oversight.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 23 and 24 November 2023. Inspectors spoke with people, visitors, staff and health professionals. They reviewed care plans, medicines records, safeguarding records, recruitment files and quality checks.
People generally received kind and respectful care. Staff understood people's needs, there were enough staff, medicines were managed safely, and people had access to food, activities and health professionals. The ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were Good.
However, some risks were not assessed or recorded properly. Safeguarding concerns were not always reported or investigated correctly. The provider's checks had not found these problems, and records did not always show that lessons had been learned.
The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection, published on 1 June 2023, to Requires Improvement. The Safe and Well-led ratings both changed to Requires Improvement.
What inspectors praised
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors saw positive interactions. Staff offered choices, explained care and treated people with dignity.
“Staff were kind, caring and respectful of people and offered them choices.” from the report
Activities and relationships
People were supported to maintain relationships and join activities they enjoyed. Inspectors saw staff engaging people in group activities and conversations.
“People were supported to maintain relationships and take part in activities they enjoyed.” from the report
Access to healthcare
The home referred people to health professionals and inspectors saw several professionals visiting during the inspection.
“People were referred to health care professionals to support their wellbeing and help them to live healthy lives.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Risk assessments and nutrition
seriousSome risk assessments and care records were not updated when people's needs changed. This included risks linked to choking, poor eating and low fluid intake.
“The provider had failed to robustly assess the risks relating to the health safety and welfare of people.” from the report
Safeguarding concerns
seriousSome safeguarding concerns were not reported or investigated properly. The report also found it was unclear whether lessons had been learned and shared with staff.
“Some recent safeguarding concerns had not been reported appropriately or investigated robustly by the provider, and it was not clear that lessons had been learned or shared in the wider team.” from the report
Weak oversight and records
seriousThe provider's audits did not identify some important problems. Records about concerns, incidents and near misses were not always complete or robust.
“The provider had failed to ensure effective and robust governance systems and records were in place to ensure the health and well-being of people who use the service.” from the report
Mealtime support
needs fixingInspectors saw a small number of occasions when staff did not follow people's care plans to provide specific support with eating. Managers acted on this during the inspection.
“Our observations during mealtimes showed a small number of instances when staff did not follow people's care plans, to provide specific support with eating.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01What has changed in care plans and risk assessments for people at risk of choking, poor nutrition or low fluid intake?
- 02How do you now make sure safeguarding concerns are reported to the local authority and the CQC within the required timescales?
- 03How are incidents, concerns and near misses recorded, investigated and shared as lessons with staff?
- 04How do you check that staff follow each person's care plan during meals?
- 05What action plan did you send to the CQC, and what evidence can you show that the improvements have been completed?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led; infection prevention and control was also checked under Safe. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 May 2024 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
An earlier report, explained
What inspectors found, June 2023
Earls Lodge Care Home is rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind care and effective management during a focused inspection.
The unannounced inspection took place on 25 April 2023. Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience spoke with people, relatives, staff and health and social care professionals. They observed care and checked records, medicines, recruitment and management information.
The inspection was prompted partly by concerns about safeguarding enquiries. Inspectors found effective systems to protect people and found no evidence that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Staff knew people's needs, medicines were managed safely, and there were enough staff to support people.
The home was rated Good overall, with Safe and Well-led also rated Good. This focused inspection looked only at those two areas. The other three areas were not inspected, so their previous ratings carry over.
What inspectors praised
Safeguarding
Staff knew how to report concerns, and safeguarding alerts were reviewed for lessons and improvements.
“There were effective safeguarding systems in place and staff knew what actions to take to help ensure people were protected from harm or abuse.” from the report
Staffing
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. People also described staff as kind.
“There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs and to provide appropriate care and support.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were stored, recorded and given accurately, with regular checks of stock and the medicines room.
“Medicines were managed safely. Staff stored, recorded and administered medicines accurately.” from the report
Learning from incidents
The home recorded accidents and incidents, looked for patterns and checked whether changes had worked.
“A lessons learned log was used to record learning from incidents.” from the report
Person-centred leadership
Staff knew people well and supported them according to their preferences. Managers used audits and feedback to oversee the service.
“There was a culture of person-centred care and support. Staff knew about people and how they liked to be supported.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01How will you meet my relative's needs if they require nursing care, given that the provider has decided not to admit people with nursing care needs?
- 02How will you keep us informed if there is a safeguarding concern or incident involving my relative?
- 03How do you use lessons from accidents, incidents and safeguarding alerts to change care?
- 04How will you make sure my relative's medicines are given on time and recorded correctly?
- 05What were the findings of the last comprehensive inspection for Caring, Effective and Responsive?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other three key-question ratings were not reassessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 June 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
The story over the years
Every inspection of Earls Lodge Care Home
8 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Requires improvement rating throughout.
- May 2024Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2023Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2022GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- April 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- March 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2015
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 9 November 2015.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.
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