Austen House

Kilnsea Drive, Lower Earley, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 3UJ

01189266100

Care Type

Nursing Care

Inspection date

12 August 2022

Provider

Barchester Healthcare Homes Limited

Beds

79 beds

About Austen House

Austen House is a care home in Wokingham, offering families in the area a local option when looking for nursing support for a loved one. The team there understands how important it is for residents to feel comfortable and at home, and the surrounding Wokingham community provides a familiar setting for many of the people who live there. For families beginning the process of finding care, it can be reassuring to have a conversation with the staff directly to get a feel for the environment and the people behind it.

Austen House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 79 people, with 73 residents at the time of inspection. The service supports older people and younger adults, including those with dementia, across four separate units within one building. Two units specialise in dementia care, each with adapted facilities tailored to residents' needs.

Inspectors identified significant concerns during their visit. Medicines were not always managed safely, and both people and staff reported insufficient staffing levels to safely meet residents' needs. Additionally, the provider had not completed necessary fire safety actions and risk management measures that had been identified.

Source: CQC inspection report, 4 October 2022

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder peopleYounger adults

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service with nursing
Registered capacity: 79 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · RG6 3UJ

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Dementia.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Requires improvement.

Rating report published 4 October 2022. Latest inspection date recorded: 12 August 2022.

Safe: Requires improvement
Effective: Requires improvement
CaringPublished 14 November 2019: Good
ResponsivePublished 14 November 2019: Good
Well-led: Requires improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?
Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Austen House's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Austen House, consider asking...

1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Austen House, look out for...

1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Austen House's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees