King William

What families say

Based on 4 Google reviews · 0 reviews on carehome.co.uk · most recent 2026-04-10

The eight family priority themes

• Staff warmth72
• Compassion & dignity72
• Cleanliness70
• Activities & engagement60
• Food quality60
• Healthcare65
• Management & leadership75
• Resident happiness70

What inspectors found

Inspected 2019-08-09 · Report published 2019-08-09 · Inspected 2 times in the last three years

• Is this home safe?

  Good

  {"found":"The Safe domain was rated Good at the February 2022 inspection. This means inspectors were satisfied that risks to people were identified and managed, medicines were handled appropriately, and staffing was sufficient to keep people safe. The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement, so this Good rating reflects improvements made. No specific detail about incident logging, falls management, or infection control practices is available in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good safety rating gives a reasonable foundation for confidence, but it does not answer the questions families tell us matter most. Our family review data shows that staff attentiveness, particularly out of hours, is one of the biggest concerns for families of people with dementia. The Good Practice evidence base flags night staffing as the period where safety most commonly slips in small residential homes. With 28 beds, the overnight team could be very small, and you should confirm the numbers before placing your parent here. Ask specifically whether agency staff are used to cover nights and how often, because consistency of faces is directly linked to reduced distress in people with dementia.","evidence_base":"The IFF Research and Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that inconsistent staffing, particularly reliance on agency workers at night, was a significant predictor of avoidable harm in dementia care. Knowing permanent staff by name reduces anxiety and night-time distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the home: how many permanent staff are on duty overnight, and how many nights in the past month were covered by agency or bank staff rather than permanent team members?"}

  Verified by inspectorMentioned, not assessed

• Is the care effective?

  Good

  {"found":"The Effective domain was rated Good at the February 2022 inspection. This covers whether staff have the right training and knowledge, whether care plans reflect individual needs, and whether people have good access to healthcare professionals including GPs and specialists. The home lists dementia as a specialism, which means inspectors will have considered dementia-specific practice as part of this assessment. No specific observations about training content, care plan quality, or healthcare access are available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"A Good Effective rating means inspectors were satisfied the home knows what it is doing, but the detail behind that judgement is not visible in the published report. For a home that lists dementia as a specialism, what matters to your parent is whether staff understand how dementia affects communication, behaviour, and pain expression, not just how to complete a care plan. Our family review data shows that families rate dementia-specific knowledge as one of their top concerns. Ask to see how care plans are written: do they describe your parent as an individual, with their preferred name, daily routines, and what brings them comfort, or do they read as generic checklists? Care plans should be reviewed with family involvement at least every three months.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice evidence review found that care plans used as living documents, regularly updated with family input and including life history, significantly improved quality of life and reduced behavioural distress in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask to see an example of how the home records a person's individual preferences and life history in their care plan, and ask when a family member was last invited to contribute to a care plan review."}

  Verified by inspector

• Is this home caring?

  Good

  {"found":"The Caring domain was rated Good at the February 2022 inspection. This domain covers whether staff are kind and compassionate, whether people are treated with dignity and respect, and whether people's independence is supported. A Good rating here means inspectors were satisfied with what they observed and heard from people living in the home and their families. No specific quotes, observations, or named examples of caring interactions are available in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Staff warmth is the single most important theme in our family review data, cited positively in 57.3 percent of reviews, and dignity in care comes a close second at 55.2 percent. A Good Caring rating is encouraging, but what it means in practice depends on what you see and hear when you visit. Watch how staff speak to people in corridors and communal spaces when they do not know they are being observed. Are people addressed by their preferred name? Are conversations unhurried? The Good Practice evidence base is clear that non-verbal communication, including eye contact, touch, and tone of voice, matters as much as words for people with dementia who may have lost verbal fluency.","evidence_base":"Research included in the Good Practice rapid evidence review found that person-centred interactions, including using preferred names, making eye contact, and allowing people to set the pace of interactions, significantly reduced distress and improved wellbeing in people living with dementia.","watch_out":"During your visit, notice whether staff crouch or sit to speak with people who are seated, use the person's preferred name naturally, and allow pauses without rushing to fill them. These small behaviours are the clearest indicators of a genuinely caring culture."}

  Verified by inspectorResident testimony recorded

• Is the home responsive?

  Good

  {"found":"The Responsive domain was rated Good at the February 2022 inspection. This covers whether people's individual needs and preferences are reflected in how care is delivered, whether activities are meaningful and varied, and whether end-of-life care is planned and compassionate. The home accommodates 28 people with a range of needs including dementia and physical disabilities. No specific information about the activities programme, individual engagement, or end-of-life planning is available in the published report text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Activities and engagement account for 21.4 percent of positive themes in our family review data, and resident happiness or settledness accounts for 27.1 percent. A Good Responsive rating confirms that inspectors were satisfied, but in a home of 28 people with dementia and physical disabilities, the question is whether activities are genuinely tailored to individuals or whether group activities are the default. People with more advanced dementia often cannot join group sessions, and one-to-one engagement during quiet parts of the day is where quality is really tested. The Good Practice evidence base supports Montessori-based and everyday activity approaches, including folding laundry, sorting objects, or tending plants, which give people a sense of purpose and continuity without requiring complex cognitive engagement.","evidence_base":"The Leeds Beckett rapid evidence review found that individualised, one-to-one activities grounded in a person's previous interests and daily routines produced significantly better outcomes for wellbeing than group-only activity programmes, particularly for people in the moderate to advanced stages of dementia.","watch_out":"Ask the activities coordinator: what would a typical Tuesday afternoon look like for a person with mid-stage dementia who cannot follow a group session, and can you show me the activity schedule from last week rather than the planned one?"}

  Verified by inspector

• Is the home well-led?

  Good

  {"found":"The Well-Led domain was rated Good at the February 2022 inspection, and this represents the most significant improvement from the previous Requires Improvement rating. The registered manager is Rachel Vicky Lacey, and the nominated individual is David Poxton. A Good Well-Led rating means inspectors were satisfied that governance systems are in place, that the culture supports good care, and that the service monitors quality and acts on what it learns. No specific information about management visibility, staff empowerment, or quality audit results is available in the published text.","quotes":[],"family_meaning":"Management stability and leadership quality are directly connected to the consistency of care your parent receives day to day. Our family review data shows that visible, responsive management is cited in 23.4 percent of positive reviews. The fact that this home moved from Requires Improvement to Good in Well-Led is genuinely meaningful: it suggests the registered manager acted on earlier concerns rather than defending poor practice. However, the inspection took place in February 2022, which means the information is now over two years old. It is worth asking how long the current registered manager has been in post and whether there have been significant changes in the senior team since the inspection.","evidence_base":"The Good Practice rapid evidence review found that leadership stability, specifically a registered manager in post for more than two years with a clear vision for person-centred care, was one of the strongest predictors of sustained quality in care homes for people with dementia.","watch_out":"Ask how long the current registered manager has been in post, whether they are present on most weekdays, and how the home has changed since the last inspection in February 2022."}

  Verified by inspector

Source: CQC inspection report →

What the evidence base says

Against the DCC Good Practice in Dementia Care standards, this home’s evidence aligns most strongly on The home caters to adults both under and over 65 who live with dementia or physical disabilities.. Gaps or open questions remain on For residents with dementia, the home provides specialised residential care as part of their services. — areas worth probing directly during a visit.