Watford House Care Home

Updated 18 August 2026

Date of assessment: 25 August to 8 September 2026.

Watford House Care Home is a residential care home providing support to older adults, some of whom live with dementia. The service is registered to support up to 40 people. At the time of our inspection, 30 people were living at the service.

We carried out this assessment in response to information of concern we received about risks to people using the service. The assessment was carried out with one site visit and a review of evidence off site. We identified breaches in regulation in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.

The provider failed to ensure the environment, equipment and facilities were adequately maintained and kept clean. There were significant shortfalls identified in relation to the overall repair of the home, furniture and fittings, decoration, cleanliness and food hygiene. The provider did not act in a timely manner to resolve issues prior to this assessment.

Medicines were not always managed effectively and concerns were identified in relation to medicine management. Issues related to stock control, missed signatures on medicine administration records, and medicine storage arrangements. Staff were not always working in line with the providers medicine policies. Whilst the providers systems showed staffing levels were adequate to meet peoples needs, during the assessment we observed people having to wait for pro-longed periods to have their needs met.

However, the registered manager and senior leaders were keen about driving improvement at the service. Issues which were identified during this assessment were prioritised with actions commencing almost immediately. The provider was working towards action plans set by external stakeholders with learning being taken to improve care delivery to achieve better outcomes for people. Care plans contained individualised information and risks were mitigated.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. People had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends. The provider supported staff wellbeing. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities.

Updated 18 August 2026

Most people we spoke with told us there weren’t enough staff, which meant they did not have time for meaningful conversations. Our observations also confirmed that at times people had to wait to have their care needs met. For example, we observed multiple occasions where people had to wait to be supported out of their wheelchair, due to their only being one hoist available. Although we did observe positive interactions between staff and people, staff did appear rushed at times, therefore interactions were short. People were often observed to be supported to move to another area with their personal belongings being left behind. For example, we observed times where a person was supported to use the toilet, their glasses were left behind.

Some relatives shared concerns when their family member had been admitted to hospital, they felt communication between the home and hospital could be improved. Some told us they had to coordinate information during hospital stays.

However, staff were warm, friendly and treated people with dignity and respect. We saw staff provide assurance to people if they became distressed. We observed activities taking place in one of the lounges, where people were interacting well. There was an activities schedule in place with a range of activities for people to participate in each day.

Feedback from people and relatives was mostly positive, they told us they felt Watford House was safe. They shared that they felt risk was managed well, such as equipment being in place if people were at risk of falls. People and relatives told us staff were caring, kind and compassionate and felt staff took time getting to know people as individuals. A relative told us, “Care is second to none. Marvellous. They’re all so friendly.”

Relatives spoke positively about the service's leadership and the improvements made under the current management team. Several specifically stated that there had been improvements since the introduction of the new management team. They described managers and senior staff as approachable and receptive to feedback.