Bracknell Care home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this service since registration. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 75 (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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

Personalised care was at the centre of the service’s values. Staff understood the importance of knowing people’s needs and preferences well and worked alongside people to ensure these were met. One staff member told us, “It’s important we know about people and what they like so we can give holistic support. It’s the small things about the residents and how they like their care that make the different.” People told us they felt their needs were met and whatever was asked of staff was responded to positively.

People’s care records contained detailed information about their needs and how they wanted their support to be provided. Information was regularly reviewed to check people were happy with the support they received and to ensure any changes in need or people’s wishes was recorded.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

The service worked with health and social care professionals to support continuity in care. One healthcare professional told us they saw continued improvements in the way people were supported and felt the service was always striving to ensure people’s health needs were met. Records were maintained of all health appointments and follow-up actions where required. This enabled staff and other professionals to track people’s health and ensure information was shared as needed.

The registered manager attended regular forums with other care home managers and the local authority quality assurance team. In addition to sharing best practice updates, the forum assisted the registered manager in understanding the challenges within their local community and within other care settings.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People’s care records were in line with the Accessible Information Standards. The standards state that providers of publicly funded adult social care are legally obliged to ensure people with disabilities or sensory loss receive information they can understand, with the right communication support. People’s communication care plans contained information regarding the support they required to communicate and took into account people’s sensory needs. We observed staff followed this guidance when speaking with people. For example, when we approached a person to speak with them, staff advised us we should sit to the other side of the person to enable them to hear us more clearly.

Information was displayed clearly around the home and where possible included pictures to help aid people’s understanding. The format of information shared with people such as the monthly newsletter of events was written in easy read to make this as accessible to as many people and their families as possible.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

The provider had a complaints policy in place which highlighted how a complaint could be made, how the complaint would be dealt with and timescales for review. People told us they would feel comfortable in raising a complaint should they have concerns. One person told us, “If we weren’t happy we (as a family) would not hesitate to make a complaint. We think they would do something about it and not let it get swept under the carpet.” A second person told us that when they had raised a concern regarding the cleanliness of their bathroom staff were there to resolve this within 30 minutes and the issue had never arisen again.

The registered manager maintained a complaints log. This demonstrated that all issues raised, however seemingly small, were treated as relevant and fully responded to. Investigations were completed as required and lessons learnt were discussed with staff. This helped to ensure that learning was shared across the home to minimise the risk of concerns happening again.

In addition, people were able to provide feedback through a suggestion box, speaking with staff or the management team directly. Regular surveys were also completed to gather the views of people and staff. The latest survey from January 2026 showed a high satisfaction rate with all scores being above 90%, and scores for kindness, compassion, privacy and dignity scoring 100%. The results were clearly displayed within the home along with assurances that action plans were being developed to further increase people’s satisfaction with the service.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

The design of the home took into account people’s needs such as support for people with mobility issues, sensory loss and those living with dementia. There was a lift which meant people could access all areas of the home, ensuite rooms and an adapted bathroom should people require this. There was clear signage displayed to support people in orientating around the home. Following an independent assessment of the environment, changes had been made to make the home more accessible such as painting handrails in a contrasting colour to walls and fitting brightly coloured toilet seats to assist people in seeing them. In addition, larger labels had been fitted to ensure people could clearly distinguish between hot and cold taps.

People were supported to access to healthcare professionals and external resources as required. This included supporting one person experiencing a difficult time to access talking therapy, signposting people and their relatives to information around completing lasting power of attorney applications and supporting people to access local religious services and connections. A lasting power of attorney is a legal power to give people you trust permission to help you make decisions should you find it difficult to do.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

Staff had completed equality and diversity training and demonstrated their understanding through the highly personalised support provided to people. Staff acted as advocates for people in accessing support from health and social care professionals which was aided by the strong links they had made with external resources.

Cultural days were planned regularly at the service where people discussed and experienced the different cultures of people and staff at Bracknell Care Home. On the day of our inspection people were enjoying a ‘Welsh Day’ with food, dress, quizzes and personal reflections of people from Wales were shared. The registered manager told us, “We have had some fantastic days, it helps to bring understanding of each.”

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

People were supported to make plans regarding their wishes at the end of their life, should they wish to do so. Plans included information regarding where the person wished to be cared for, who they would like to be informed, any religious needs or specific things which they felt would be of comfort. Staff received training in supporting people at the end of their life and worked closely with the GP and other healthcare service to ensure people remained comfortable and pain free.

The registered manager told us the home had a strong ethos in ensuring people were cared for with dignity and respect at the end of their life and following their passing. They told us, “Families are able to stay, they can move in if they want to; whatever they need. When someone leaves the home, we always mark this with a ‘guard of honour’ and make it possible for everyone to show their respects.” They went on to share how one person had requested their ashes be scattered in the garden as this was the place they had felt most at home. The registered manager had ensured the persons wishes were respected.