Care home near King's Lynn put into special measures by CQC
The Care Quality Commission also dropped the site's rating from good to inadequate
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated a care home near King's Lynn as inadequate- after an inspection.
Winchley Home has also been placed into special measures- which means it'll be closely monitored to keep residents safe.
It's run by Gemini Care Limited and is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for older people and people living with dementia.
The service can support up to 41 people. There were 32 people living in the home at the time of the inspection.
CQC dropped the home’s rating from good to inadequate overall as well as across safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
Inspectors found:
-Staff didn’t always record important information about people. Care plans lacked information about people's personal histories and preferences. People's care records were task-focused rather than person-centred.
-Staff didn’t always recognise or respond to people’s changing needs in a timely way. One person had lived at the home for over a month without a care plan in place.
-Staff didn’t always manage medicines safely. Medication records contained gaps and inaccuracies, including for controlled drugs.
-The home didn’t provide sufficient support during a period of management change. The long-standing registered manager left in December 2025, and an acting manager had been in post since January 2026 without adequate support to lead the service effectively.
-Leaders didn’t always seek feedback from people or their relatives. The acting manager told us resident meetings were not held because people living at the home had dementia.
However:
-Staff were observed to treat people with kindness and respect, and relatives provided positive feedback about individual staff members.
-The service responded to concerns raised during the inspection and developed an action plan to address improvements required.
"People weren’t always kept safe"
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the East of England, said:
“When we inspected Winchley Home, we found that people weren’t receiving the standard of care they deserved. People weren’t always kept safe because the service hadn’t put the right systems in place, leading to significant and widespread shortfalls.
“People living at the home had complex needs but staff didn’t always have the information they needed to support people safely. For example, care plans for people at risk of choking didn’t accurately reflect their dietary needs, which placed them at risk of harm.
“People weren’t always treated with dignity. We found evidence of people being woken and given personal care in the early hours of the morning, with no record that this reflected their wishes. One person experienced toothache for several days; staff had given pain relief but hadn’t sought dental or medical advice.
“People were at risk of isolation. Relatives told us their family members had little to do. One relative said their family member only went out if taken by family, and another told us their relative sat in front of a television they couldn’t see, with no one visiting them in their room.
“We’ve shared our findings with the management of the home and will be monitoring it very closely to ensure changes are made and people are kept safe while this happens.”
Gemini Care- who operates the home- has been contacted for comment.