Cherington

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 7 January 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of Assessment: 21 November to 5 December 2025. The service is a residential care home providing support to older people, including people living with dementia, and additional nursing care needs. This assessment was undertaken in response to concerns raised by the local authority, and to follow-up on improvements implemented since the last inspection undertaken in March 2019. We found 4 breaches of regulations relating to staffing, dignity and respect, person-centred care and good governance.

The service is registered for use by autistic people or people with a learning disability. At the time of the assessment, the service was not used by anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

Staffing levels, including staff deployment, were not sufficient to ensure people received an acceptable standard of care which put them at risk. The home was dependent on a high use of agency staff as they had difficulty recruiting permanent staff, and this impacted on the consistency of care. Not all staff had completed the mandatory updates to training required by the provider, including infection prevention and control and safeguarding.

People were not always treated with dignity and respect, and the care delivered was task-led rather than person-centred. There was a lack of meaningful activities organised for people and a lack of mental stimulation. The physical environment was not dementia-friendly. Systems were not sufficiently robust to measure and monitor the home overall in order to drive improvement.

Accidents and incidents were logged and analysed, with any lessons learned shared with staff. Information was shared with other providers when people moved between services. The home provided a safe environment for people, and adaptations enabled people to move freely around the home. The environment, whilst accessible and uncluttered, did not provide inspiration for people living with dementia.

The home was generally clean and well maintained. Medicines were managed safely.

Assessments of people’s care and support needs were completed before they came to live at the home. Staff worked with a variety of services and shared information appropriately. Consent to care and treatment was gained lawfully. People’s end of life wishes were listened to and documented.

At the end of the inspection, we received assurances from the provider that issues found as part of this assessment were being addressed.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.