- Care home
Gwen Walford House
Assessment report published 31 December 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of inspection: 21 22 October 2025. Gwen Walford House is a nursing home which provides nursing and personal care and treatment for disease, disorder and injury (TDDI) for up to 30 people. The service provides support to older and younger people and people living with dementia. It also provides support to people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. People were supported by staff who had received training and understood how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. People received their medicines as prescribed, and systems were in place for the safe management, supply and disposal of medicines. We observed there were sufficient staffing levels to meet people’s needs. The environment was safe, well maintained and staff understood the principles of maintaining good infection control. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Accidents and incidents were investigated and shared with the staff team, and actions were taken to learn from these to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. People’s needs were assessed prior to admission to the service, and care plans were reviewed regularly with individuals and relatives. People were supported to maintain their independence and staff ensured their dignity was maintained. Staff demonstrated good knowledge of what people’s care plans entailed and knew about people’s choices and preferences and how they like to be supported. The provider was honest and identified where improvements were needed by personalising some people’s clinical documentation. Strengthening of oversight and governance was in process with the implementation of new auditing processes and additional oversight of governance at a leadership level. Staff told us they were listened to and felt supported.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with 4 people and 8 relatives about their experience of the care being provided at Gwen Walford House. We spent time seeing how people were cared for. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. People and relatives shared positive views on the care and support provided. They described staff as “Excellent”, “Quiet and gentle” and “Kind and caring”. People and relatives told us they felt safe and could approach either the staff, nurses or the management team if they had any concerns or complaints. Some people shared they had raised a complaint, and this had been responded to and where needed, actions had been taken. People were offered support to maintain and promote their independence and were offered a range of activities to engage in if they chose to participate. People said they had choices and were consulted about how their care was delivered. One person described ways in which staff had ensured their care met their personal preferences which was important to them.