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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Walton Manor

Requires improvementpublished 21 August 2025, 13 months ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, April 2020

Walton Manor was rated Good in every area; inspectors found safe, kind, personalised care and effective management.

This was an unannounced inspection on 25 February 2020. Inspectors spoke with people who lived in the home, relatives and staff. They observed care and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.

The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found suitable systems to protect people, enough staff, safe medicines processes and appropriate training. The home was clean and well maintained.

People said staff treated them well and respected their choices, privacy and independence. The home supported communication, activities, relationships and complaints. This was the same overall rating as at the previous inspection on 8 June 2017.

What inspectors praised
  • Safe staffing and recruitment

    Recruitment checks were described as robust. Staffing levels were based on people's dependency needs, with call bell responses used to help assess workloads.

    “Recruitment systems were robust and files included all relevant documentation.” from the report
  • Medicines safety

    Medicines were administered competently and records were completed accurately. Weekly audits, staff training and competence checks were used to identify problems.

    “The service had robust systems to manage medicines safely. Medicines were administered competently and records were completed accurately.” from the report
  • Kind and respectful care

    People reported being treated well, and inspectors observed caring interactions. The home supported privacy, dignity and independence.

    “People felt they were treated well by all staff and observations showed caring, compassionate interactions.” from the report
  • Personalised communication and activities

    Care plans recorded communication needs, and the home used pictures, large print and easy-read information. People were offered activities, outings and support to maintain relationships.

    “The home had a comprehensive programme of activities and outings and encouraged people to join in.” from the report
  • Listening and improvement

    Residents' and relatives' meetings, audits and questionnaires helped guide changes. The home had acted on suggestions about hearing aid care, towels and internet access.

    “The service had responded positively to their 'You said we did' scheme.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How would you assess my relative's dependency and use their call bell response information to make sure staffing remains sufficient?
  2. 02How will you record and support my relative's communication needs, including any hearing or visual impairment?
  3. 03How often would my relative's medicines be reviewed, and how are medicines errors identified and followed up?
  4. 04What activities and outings would be suitable for my relative, and how would you support visits and family relationships?
  5. 05How would you involve my relative and our family in care planning and regular reviews?

This was an unannounced planned inspection covering all five CQC questions; all five ratings were assessed and remained Good from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 April 2020 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, June 2017

Walton Manor was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and well-organised care, with improvements made since the previous inspection.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 11 May 2017. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They also reviewed care plans, staff files, medicines records, audits and maintenance records.

All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines management, suitable training, respectful care, regular care plan reviews and a wide range of activities.

The previous inspection in October 2015 had rated the home Requires Improvement and found four breaches of regulations. At this inspection, the provider had followed its action plan and was meeting those requirements.

One limitation was that a recently introduced process for reviewing care plans with people and their families had not yet been used. Inspectors could not therefore check records of those reviews.

What inspectors praised
  • Enough staff and safe care

    Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs safely. Staff responded promptly to call bells and had clear guidance about managing individual risks.

    “People got care and support when they needed it because there were sufficient staff on duty to meet those needs safely.” from the report
  • Kind and respectful staff

    People and relatives gave very positive feedback about staff. Inspectors saw staff protecting privacy and dignity and speaking with people in a friendly, relaxed way.

    “We observed caring practice from the staff, and saw people's privacy and dignity was respected.” from the report
  • Improvements in leadership

    The provider and registered manager had acted on the problems found at the previous inspection. Quality checks were regular, with action plans used to track improvements.

    “There were robust systems and processes in place to measure, monitor and improve quality in the service.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • New care plan review process not yet tested

    needs fixing

    The home had recently introduced dates for reviewing care plans with people and families. No such reviews had taken place by the inspection, so inspectors could not assess the records.

    “as no reviews had yet taken place we were not able to review the records of these.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How are care plan reviews with residents and families now being carried out and recorded?
  2. 02What is the current position on the two DoLS applications that were awaiting authorisation at the inspection?
  3. 03How will you make sure activities continue to match my relative's interests and preferences?
  4. 04How are people's changing nutritional needs, including diabetes or weight loss, monitored and acted on?
  5. 05How can relatives raise concerns, and how will they be kept informed about the response?

This was an unannounced inspection covering the overall quality of the home and all five CQC questions, with ratings given for each one. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 June 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Walton Manor

3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. April 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Walton Manor →

  2. June 2017Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Walton Manor →

  3. February 2016Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. November 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. May 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. April 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 4 April 2011.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.

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