CQC suspends registration of Wakefield care home following inadequate inspection

The Care Quality Commission has rated Elm Lodge Residential Care Home as Inadequate, placed the service into special measures, and urgently suspended its registration following an inspection in April and May.

The 17-bed care home in Horbury, Wakefield, is operated by Alhambra Care Limited and provides residential care for older people, including people living with dementia.

CQC carried out the inspection after receiving information raising concerns about people’s safety.

Following the inspection, the regulator took urgent enforcement action by suspending the provider’s registration for three months, until 13 August 2026, due to the seriousness of the concerns identified. CQC said it worked with the local authority to ensure people living at the home continued to receive appropriate care and support.

The service has been rated Inadequate across all five key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Inspectors identified 11 breaches of regulations covering fit and proper persons, person-centred care, consent, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, nutrition, premises and equipment, governance, staffing, and failures to notify CQC of significant events.

The inspection found widespread concerns about the quality and safety of care being provided.

Inspectors identified serious failings in medicines management, including missed doses, incorrect dosages and delays in administering time-critical medicines, placing people at risk of harm.

CQC also found repeated examples where people’s dignity was not maintained. Inspectors observed people struggling to eat without support, individuals left without assistance when incontinent, and one person attempting to undress in a communal area because staff were not available to help them reach the toilet.

The inspection also found the home’s environment was not being maintained appropriately. Parts of the home were described as unacceptably cold, with inspectors observing people shivering and appearing uncomfortable because the heating system had not been properly maintained.

Further concerns included insufficient numbers of suitably trained staff, poor supervision and staff development, unclean communal areas and bedrooms, and a significant malodour throughout parts of the home.

Inspectors also found people were frequently left without meaningful interaction or support, with many appearing disengaged or asleep for long periods. Staff did not always understand when safeguarding concerns should be reported, and leaders were not effectively investigating incidents or learning from previous events to reduce future risks.

CQC also found the provider had not consistently assessed people’s care needs before admission, increasing the risk that people received care that did not appropriately meet their needs.

Commenting on the findings, Victoria Marsden, CQC Deputy Director of Adult Social Care in the North, said inspectors found a service where poor practice had been allowed to continue and that urgent enforcement action was necessary to protect people while improvements are made.

The full inspection report is available on the CQC website.

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