Controversial care home in Mansfield is set to reopen under new owners

All 16 residents were moved out and into alternative accommodation after Ashdale Care Home at The Park, off Park Avenue, was slapped with a rating of ‘Inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2023.

The home, which was run by the Derby-based company, Isys Care Ltd, was also placed in special measures, with the CQC saying the residents were at “serious risk” of illness or danger.

When inspectors returned six months later, they found no significant improvements or action plan, forcing them to threaten enforcement proceedings to prevent Isys operating the service.

Ashdale remained empty throughout last year. However, it has now been divulged that it has a new owner in the London-based company, Hestia Care Group Ltd, which has bought the building and intends to refurbish it before reopening the care home.

The information appears in a planning application received by Mansfield District Council for an extension at the back of home, which would include a dining room and activity room, both separate to the lounge.

The application has been submitted by Zahid Iqbal, of Hestia, and is accompanied by a planning statement from the Lincoln-based firm, SRA Architecture Ltd.

The statement says the extension is part of improvement work “recommended by the CQC in order to gain CQC compliance”.

The work would also include a platform lift between the kitchen and the dining room, as well as access to the home’s courtyard.

"Reopening the former care home with improved and additional facilities would provide the local area with a better care home than it had previously,” the statement concludes.

Ashdale used to provide care for up to 22 adults aged 65 and over, including some with physical disabilities.

Among the failings uncovered by the CQC were a faulty fire alarm, an ineffective heating system and poor water-maintenance, leaving residents at risk of catching Legionnaires’ disease.

Staff were not adequately recruited or trained, and Isys was not even able to provide a clear list of the names of employees.

Nottinghamshire County Council was so alarmed that it cancelled its contract with Ashdale because Isys had “failed in its duty to uphold safe standards of care”.