Alderwood Care Home

Updated 26 November 2025

Inspection dates: 16 and 17 December 2025.

Alderwood Care Home provides care for people living with dementia and other health conditions. The service could support up to 36 people and 35 people were being supported at the time of the assessment. The environment was welcoming and homely, with personalised rooms and seasonal decorations on display. Care was person-centred, and staff knew individuals well, supporting choice and independence in daily routines.

Medicines were administered safely and on time, but we identified errors in the recording of temperatures in the medicines room. The registered manager took steps to remedy this immediately. Good leadership was visible and approachable, and relatives we spoke with were complimentary of the registered manager and the staff team. A positive culture was evident, although not all staff we spoke with were confident to raise concerns. We observed good teamwork and a focus on learning.

We spoke with several members of the senior management team during this assessment. They attended the home to support the registered manager and were able to explain the planned improvements to systems and processes that were happening nationally, and the timescales for these; they demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement. Invaluable links had been made with local community and voluntary groups; these excellent partnerships benefitted people living in the home.

We assessed a limited number of quality statements in the caring and responsive key questions and found areas of good practice. The scores for these areas have been combined with scores based on the rating from the last inspection. Both key questions have been rated good. This meant people were involved in their care, treated with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect and had their needs met through good organisation and delivery. At our last inspection we identified a breach in good governance; at this assessment we judged the service had made improvements and is no longer in breach of regulations.

Updated 26 November 2025

People told us they felt happy and comfortable living at Alderwood Care Home. People felt safe and one person told us, “I feel safe; they come round and check on me. There’s usually 3 [staff] on duty, sometimes 4. I have my buzzer and they come if I need them.”’

People and their relatives were extremely complimentary about the activities and entertainment. Trips out were organised, for example people had been to local garden centres, cafes and the theatre, although these were sometimes dependent on the availability of transport. The purchase of a minibus for the home was on the registered manager’s wish list.

People’s bedrooms were highly personalised; people had their own belongings, ornaments and family photographs. Staff were observed interacting kindly and respectfully, supporting people at mealtimes with patience and without rushing. People were supported to present themselves in a way they wished to, and relatives praised laundry services, saying nothing went missing.

People and families said they knew how to raise concerns and felt listened to. Visitors described the service as welcoming and homely, with recent improvements to the home environment, including new fire doors, clean and bright décor to some of the bedrooms and revamped cosy communal areas. People were well groomed and dressed appropriately, with warm clothing and good footwear; some were wearing sparkly tops and jumpers and told us they were looking forward to all the celebrations that were planned.

Lounges were nicely decorated for the festive season. We saw residents relaxing with each other or quietly chatting with friends and family members in these areas. Overall, people experienced a caring and supportive environment where staff promoted dignity, choice, and independence.