- Care home
The Willow
Assessment report published 20 January 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 11th December 2025.
The Willow is a residential care home providing support to up to 11 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. There were 10 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.
The service was unrated due to a new provider taking over in May 2024.
The environment was safe, medicines were managed safely, and people’s health was monitored. Risks relating to people’s health, safety and welfare were in place, but documentation to support staff to mitigate risk was not always robust. Care planning did not always reflect people’s current needs.
People were supported to maintain independence, choice and control. People and their representatives were involved in decisions about their care, and staff provided information people could understand. People were treated with kindness, compassion, and respect, and staff protected their privacy and dignity.
People’s representatives could visit the home at any time they wished, and people were encouraged to maintain their relationships with family, friends and local community.
Staff responded to people in a timely way and were supported by leadership to carry out their roles. Leaders were visible, knowledgeable and supportive, and ensured there were multiple opportunities and methods to support people and staff to provide feedback about the service. Systems were not always in place to monitor the quality of the service. Infection Prevention and Medication audits had taken place.
We found the provider and registered manager to be very responsive to our feedback throughout the course of inspection and took action quickly to address concerns.
People's experience of this service
We spent time speaking with people at the service and made telephone calls to people’s representatives after the site visit. People told us they were very satisfied with the service that was provided. People told us they were supported and well cared for by staff. Comments included “the staff are so lovely, they help me do things” and “if I want my room changed, I ask and staff clean it for me”.
People told us they were happy to live at the service. Comments included “I love it here”, “staff are wonderful” and “I have fun here and have friends”.
People’s representatives and families told us they felt that people were safe at the service and were able to access healthcare when needed. People’s representatives told us that staff kept them up to date of any developments in people’s care, the service was homely and they felt welcome.
Comments included “[relative] is well looked after”, and “They’ll always fight [relative’s] corner.