- Care home
Watermoor House
Assessment report published 13 January 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 24 September 2025 and 25 September 2025. This assessment included a site visit. Watermoor House is a care home without nursing for up to 39 people. There were 30 people living at the service at the time of our inspection. The service supported people with and without dementia, a person with a learning disability and people on end-of-life care. We assessed the service because there had been concerns raised regarding the quality and safety of the service. During the assessment, we found a continued breach of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. While the service demonstrated several areas of good practice, improvements were needed to medicine practices, recording of care needs, assessing risks to people and oversight from managers. The service did not provide assurance that medicines were being managed safely, including the management of controlled drugs. Despite the shortfalls identified, there were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications, and experience to meet people’s needs. The provider demonstrated a clear commitment to staff wellbeing, and staff we spoke with expressed positive views about their workplace and the management team. People received care that was safe, person-centred, and delivered with dedication. People and their relatives spoke positively about the staff and the management team. Staff knew people using the service well and understood their needs. Staff supported individuals’ independence and worked to minimise any barriers to receiving personalised care. Staff consistently reported enjoying their roles. We have issued the provider with a warning notice in response to the concerns found at this assessment and we will continue to monitor the progress.
People's experience of this service
While people expressed general satisfaction with their care, our assessment found care did not always meet the expected standards. We carried out a short observational framework for inspection (SOFI) and observed staff engaging with people in a kind and patient way. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We observed some kind and caring interactions between staff and people. Comments included, “they’re very nice, there’s always somebody around to help, I’m quite happy with it”; “all the carers are very nice, I don’t feel embarrassed when they help me, they don’t rush me”; “the staff aren’t glum, they’re happy, they care, they know what they’re doing, experienced, on the whole they do a very good job, there’s a lovely atmosphere” and “brilliant, kind and caring. I like the company and the atmosphere.” Relatives told us, “I would want to live here if I needed to” and “I cannot fault the managers.”