Benson House Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question Good. At this assessment the rating has changed to Requires Improvement. This meant the management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

The service was in breach of legal regulation in relation to governance at the service, as audits failed to identify our concerns in relation to medicine.

This service scored 62 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The service had a positive culture demonstrated by staff and leaders who were passionate and innovative in ensuring there was a shared vision and strategy on delivering high quality care. Staff told us how they enjoyed working at the service. One staff member said, “I like working here, we have a positive culture that is very supportive.”

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

Staff consistently told us how they felt supported in their roles and how they found the manager approachable, open, and honest. Staff told us the communication systems and team working within the service were robust and effective. Staff told us they had briefings and meetings to keep up to date. One staff member said, “Communication is good here, we have a good staff team.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Policies were in place to support this culture.

Regular meetings were held with staff, including supervision, handovers, and briefings. Staff told us they felt confident in speaking up to raise issues or concerns. One staff member said, “I can speak out and I think I am listened to.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The manager demonstrated how they valued staff by working closely with them to understand staff’s individual needs and by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate and support them in their work.Staff told us where adjustments were made to their working week to support them.

The provider did not always have good governance. There was a range of checks and audits to monitor the quality and safety of the service and to help drive improvements. These included checks on risks to people, care plan reviews, spot checks and medicines. However, these systems were not always effective.

Audits failed to identify our concerns relating to risks with medicine and the accuracy of medicine records. For example, a medicine audit dated 29 September 2025, and scheduled checks had failed to identify our concerns relating to medicine records.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The provider had built links with community services and healthcare services such as GPs, physiotherapist, dentist, podiatrist and optician, as needed. For example, the service provided ‘hub’ beds to assist hospitals to release patients early relieving pressure on the NHS.

Records confirmed the provider was working closely with the local authority through meetings and action plans to improve the service.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people. They actively contributed to safe, effective practice and research.

The service documented learning within incidents and accidents and took direct action to support people and keep them safe. Staff felt they received feedback about incidents in a timely manner.

Comments from residents’ meetings and surveys were used to improve the service. For example, following people’s requests the chef visited people in their rooms and the dining room to take comments about the food and menus to enable them to implement suggestions.