Multiple residents at a Leicestershire care home were given the “wrong dose” of medicine, while inspectors also found some medication with “incorrect expiry dates”, a report has revealed.
The Amwell Care Home, in Melton’s Asfordby Road, was visited by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors in December 2025, months after it had been given a rating of ‘Inadequate’ – the lowest mark possible – by the watchdog.
The care home had earlier in 2025 been placed in special measures after the CQC was told residents were “regularly” heard “crying out for help”.
The care home was also found in breach of safe care and treatment, nutrition and hydration, and management.
However, in its latest inspection, which was published on 24 March, CQC inspectors found that the care home had improved but still said it ‘Requires Improvement’ – the second lowest mark.
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Inspectors rated the care home as “good” in areas of effectiveness, caring and responsiveness; however, they said it needed improvement in safety and being well led.
According to the report, inspectors “identified two separate incidents” where, according to medicine charts, residents were given “the wrong dose of their prescribed medicine”.
These incidents, they said, “had not been recorded as errors, and the home manager was unaware of them until they were brought up during the inspection”.
The watchdog also raised concerns after finding “two liquid medicines … found without a recorded opening date”, saying it was “not possible for staff to confirm whether the products were still within their recommended shelf life”.
Inspectors also found “some medicines with reduced expiry periods once opened” that “had been labelled with incorrect expiry dates”.
Staffing was also a concern for inspectors, who claimed that the care home “did not always make sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff”.
CQC staff found that “there was a heavy reliance on agency staff, and staff told us they felt more permanent staff were needed”.
One staff member told inspectors: “We use agency quite often, some are very good, but for some it’s their first time. We need more in-house staff.”
In response, Amwell bosses said they were “actively trying to recruit permanent staff”, but it was “proving challenging”. Similar concerns were also echoed by relatives of the care home residents.
One relative told inspectors: “There was a big shift to agency people; they are pleasant enough, but it’s not ideal. They don’t have time to go through care plans with agency people. I spoke to the manager a month ago about it. They said they were trying to recruit their own staff.”
Another relative said: “There were times when staffing levels could be improved, mainly at weekends.”
Despite the concerns, inspectors said that the care home “supported and treated [people] with dignity and respect”, whilst “outcomes were consistently good”.
Inspectors previously labelled Amwell’s effectiveness as ‘Inadequate’; however, this time around, “improvements were found”, and they said that “the provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them”.
CQC bosses also found that “staff were kind and caring”, whilst “feedback from relatives was mostly positive”.
They also found that “people had access to activities, although improvements were required to ensure those who wished to remain in their rooms or were unable to leave their rooms were able to engage in meaningful activities”.
A spokesperson for The Amwell said: “We always take feedback from the CQC extremely seriously and have made significant improvements since the previous inspection. We are pleased that we are no longer in special measures and are rated ‘good’ in key areas, including caring, responsive and effective.
“We are committed to delivering the highest standards of care to our residents, and when irregularities were raised during the inspection in January, we took immediate action to address these. In particular, we have strengthened our processes around medicine administration, and subsequent visits and audits from both the regulator and the local authority have confirmed that these are now being managed effectively.
“We are committed to continuing to build on the progress we have made, and we look forward to welcoming the CQC back to the home in due course.”