Stonedale Lodge in Croxteth has been deemed inadequate once again despite some improvements
Stonedale Lodge care home in Croxteth
A north Liverpool care home remains in special measures after reports of residents being left with untreated open wounds and staff being under “horrible” pressure. Stonedale Lodge in Croxteth remains an inadequate care facility after a fresh inspection in November and December last year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
As a result, it will not be taken out of special measures. This is despite “some improvements” being made to the site which spreads across two units.
Officials visited the care home, operated by Advinia Care Homes Limited, on two occasions before Christmas. At the time, 55 people were living there.
CQC inspectors said they had found some changes but they were recent and there had been “limited evidence” to suggest they were embedded or sustained. A report issued by the watchdog said: “The provider remained in breach of regulations relating to safe care and treatment, and good governance.”
Issues were also prevalent with how people were provided with safe care and treatment while parts of the environment were described as “unsafe or unclean, placing people at risk of increased risk of harm.”
Daily checks and audits did not identify ongoing environmental or infection prevention and control (IPC) concerns, including the unsafe storage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and unsafe disposal of clinical waste.
People were not always provided with safe care and treatment. Safety incidents were not consistently reviewed or analysed to identify root causes or ensure lessons were learned to prevent recurrence
Parts of the environment and equipment were unsafe or unclean, placing people at increased risk of harm. Not all visitors were signing in and out of the units, which compromised the security of the premises and posed potential risks to visitors in the event of an emergency.
Care records showed six falls had occurred in the month of September 2025 but only three of them were entered onto the providers system. In the same month, an allegation of abuse was raised with the local authority safeguarding team following an altercation between two people, however, there was no record of this incident on the provider’s system.
Officials said managers and staff did not maintain accurate and up‑to‑date records to reflect an injury sustained by a resident and as a result, the person did not receive the timely medical treatment they required, which led to the need for urgent intervention. Another person with an open wound that had not been identified was also observed by inspectors.
This was despite records stating staff had assisted the person with personal care that morning. Following an intervention by the CQC team, a GP reviewed the person and confirmed the wound was infected.
Antibiotics were prescribed, and the home manager raised a safeguarding referral for an allegation of neglect.
Alongside this, it was said the provider did not make sure there were enough suitably skilled and qualified staff to safely meet people’s needs. For example, training records showed 19 staff had not completed pressure ulcer prevention training.
This included five of the six staff caring for a person whose wound had gone unnoticed, placing them at risk of avoidable harm. Staff did not consistently respond to people’s needs in the moment or take action to minimise their discomfort, concern or distress.
One person told the CQC how a person told staff they were experiencing pain and discomfort due to a wound on their leg which had gone unnoticed despite staff providing intimate personal care earlier in the day.
However, staff said they felt uninformed, anxious and uncertain about their future, with one telling inspectors: “I do enjoy working here but the stress they put on you is horrible.”
There was no registered manager in post at the time of the inspection with the previous registered manager leaving in May last year. A new manager was appointed in July 2025 and submitted an application to CQC in September 2025 to become the registered manager.
However, their application was incomplete and returned to them for further information. The manager was unaware of this as they had not checked their mail.
The ECHO contacted Advinia for a response to the report.
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