- Care home
Brook House Care Home
This care home is run by two companies: Aria Healthcare Group LTD and Care UK Care Services Limited. These two companies have a dual registration and are jointly responsible for the services at the home.
Assessment report published 18 February 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment from 10 December to 31 December 2025. This assessment included site visits on 10 and 11 December 2025. The registered provider can accommodate up to 53 people at Brook House Care Home. At the time of assessment, 51 people were living at the service. Brook House Care Home is a care home with nursing providing accommodation and personal care to older people, including those living with dementia.
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.
People's experience of this service
During the assessment, we spoke with people living at the service and their relatives. We also observed care throughout the day to understand the experiences of people who were not always able to communicate verbally.
People and their relatives told us they felt safe and well cared for. People said staff were supportive and responsive to their needs. Relatives spoke positively about safety within the service, with one relative telling us, “They are excellent on safety.”
People and relatives consistently described staff as kind, patient, and attentive. We observed warm and positive interactions between staff and people, including friendly conversations and reassurance. People felt listened to, and staff took time to communicate in a calm and respectful way. Relatives praised the care provided, with comments such as, “They are fantastic – very kind,” and “They are lovely with (person), and they deal with things amazingly well.”
People told us they were treated as individuals and that staff understood what mattered to them. Bedrooms were personalised, and people appeared comfortable in their surroundings. One relative said, “We are over the moon. They are so understanding. (Relative) has very severe dementia. They make (them) comfortable and safe and (relative) has a lovely room. They dressed (their) room with photos – (relative) is a Chelsea fan.” Another relative told us, “They have got to know (their) likes and (their) dislikes in a short space of time.”
People were supported to make choices and maintain their independence where possible. Relatives confirmed that staff encouraged independence safely. One relative told us, “(Relative) is able to get around using a walking frame. They encourage (relative).” People were able to choose how they spent their time, including taking part in activities or having quiet time in their rooms.
People and relatives spoke positively about food, hydration, and health support. Relatives described improvements in people’s health and wellbeing, including weight gain and better appetite. Others told us staff managed health concerns well and kept them informed when people became unwell or needed hospital care.
People said the home was clean and well maintained. One person told us, “The housekeeping staff are very good, and they clean my room every day. They do a very good job.”
People and relatives said they felt able to raise concerns and give feedback. They described staff and managers as approachable and said concerns would be listened to. One relative told us, “I’ve been invited to give my comments. If I needed to approach anyone about a problem I could do so. They are so relaxed and it’s so friendly.” We observed staff responding to people’s requests in the moment, showing that feedback was valued and acted upon.