Care home transforms it fortunes with glowing CQC report

Amelia House, on Carlton Street, Normanton, caters for up to 10 people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities and has achieved an overall ‘good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The home was formerly known as Carlton Lodge, which hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2018 when it was put into special measures for a string of failures.

This included reported assaults by staff on residents, which attracted the attention of West Yorkshire Police.

The home is still under the ownership of Care Worldwide Ltd, but has an entirely new roster of staff and now an official seal of approval.

New manager Jake Thompson said: ”The home was reopened with a strong stigma attached to it, a tarnished relationship with our local community, no staff, no referrals and poor relationships with all externals and the perception that this home would always be the old Carlton Lodge.

"We ,now, less than 12 months on, are at full occupancy, have a waiting list, have registered a supported living additionally to our service and provide respite to a number of families who require our specialist support and care.

“This has been a huge project and turnaround, however, it is only the beginning for us.”

The CQC visited the home in September, awarding it a ‘good’ mark in four key areas, including the safety of the home, its effectiveness, its responsiveness and how well led it is now.

The fifth key area - the level of care shown - garnered an ‘outstanding’ mark and noted that the new staff were “exceptionally caring”.

They noted that there was “a strong, visible person-centred culture” and that “staff were highly motivated”.

They added: “People were treated with the utmost respect dignity, empathy, and compassion.”