Brook House Care Home

“This was a routine assessment of the service. This assessment reviewed how safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led the service was. During the assessment, we spoke with people using the service, their relatives, staff at different levels, and reviewed care records, policies, audits, and other documentation. We also observed care and used structured observation to understand the experiences of people who could not always communicate verbally.”

“Overall, the service demonstrated many areas of good practice. There was a positive and open safety culture, with incidents and safeguarding concerns reported, investigated, and used as learning opportunities. People were supported to feel safe, and safeguarding systems, including Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, were in place. The environment was clean, well maintained, and safe, with effective infection prevention and control measures. Medicines were managed safely, and staff were trained and competent.”

“Staff were kind, respectful, and compassionate, and people were treated with dignity. Care was personalised, and staff knew people well, supporting their independence, choices, and preferences. People were encouraged to take part in activities and community links, and the service promoted equality, inclusion, and fair access to care. End of life care planning was in place, with staff trained to support people compassionately.”

“The service worked well with external professionals, including GPs and specialist teams, to support continuity of care and positive health outcomes. People’s health was monitored, and referrals were made promptly when needs changed. Leadership promoted a positive culture, with staff feeling able to speak up and contribute to improvements. Learning from incidents, feedback, and audits was encouraged, and some improvements were made during the assessment.”

“However, there were areas that required improvement. Some care plans and risk assessments lacked detail or contained outdated or inconsistent information. Recording around nutrition overnight, personal care, oral care, and behaviour support needed strengthening. Consent and Mental Capacity Act processes were not consistently applied, particularly in relation to decision-specific assessments and the use of CCTV, which raised concerns about people’s rights. Governance systems did not always identify these issues through routine monitoring, and further oversight was required. Staff supervision and appraisal records were not fully up to date, and some staff reported workload pressures.”

“Leaders acknowledged these shortfalls and took immediate action where concerns were identified. The provider demonstrated a willingness to improve and had plans in place to strengthen governance, recording, consent processes, and staff support.”

“In summary, the service provided mostly good-quality care, with strong caring practices, positive leadership culture, and effective partnership working. Improvements are needed to ensure records, consent processes, and governance systems are consistently robust and embedded in practice.”

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