Bricket Wood Care Limited

9 The Uplands, Bricket Wood, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL2 3UW

01923679744

Care Type

Residential Care

Inspection date

24 January 2023

Provider

Bricket Wood Care Limited

Beds

6 beds

Rating history

GoodJul 2018
Requires ImprovementFeb 2021
InadequateJun 2022
Requires ImprovementFeb 2023

Improved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement in 2023. CQC has rated this home 4 times since 2018.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

This is the only care home Bricket Wood Care Limited runs in England.

Average care home fees in the East of England: £1,034 a week for residential care and £1,411 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Bricket Wood Care Limited

Bricket Wood Care Limited is a small, homely care home set in the peaceful county of Hertfordshire, offering a welcoming environment where residents can feel truly at ease. Families looking for a place that feels less like a facility and more like a genuine home will find much to appreciate here, from the friendly atmosphere to the commitment of the team who support those in their care.

This residential care home supports up to six people with learning disabilities and autism, and was caring for four residents at inspection. Staff demonstrate awareness of people's strengths and actively involve them in household tasks and cooking, which residents value as opportunities to build independence. The service has made improvements since the last inspection, including enhanced staff knowledge, better environmental conditions, and safer practices around personal protective equipment.

However, while policies aim to support maximum choice and control in the least restrictive way, the systems in place do not fully support this practice in day-to-day management. Staff learn from incidents to reduce future occurrences, though this learning is not consistently embedded across the service.

Source: CQC inspection report, 25 February 2023

Specialist Care

Learning disabilitiesMental healthOlder 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 without nursing
Registered capacity: 6 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · AL2 3UW

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Learning disabilities; Mental health conditions; Sensory impairment.

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 25 February 2023. Latest inspection date recorded: 24 January 2023.

Safe: Requires improvement
Effective: Requires improvement
CaringPublished 26 July 2018: Good
ResponsivePublished 26 July 2018: 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 Bricket Wood Care Limited'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 Bricket Wood Care Limited, consider asking...

1.What happens if my relative's care needs increase significantly -- will they have to move?
2.How do you handle concerns or complaints from families?
3.What does the monthly fee cover and what will cost extra?
4.How do you keep families informed about their relative's day-to-day wellbeing?
5.What happens if my relative is unhappy here?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Bricket Wood Care Limited, look out for...

1.Do staff greet residents by name and stop to chat?
2.Are residents dressed, up and occupied, or sitting alone in front of a TV?
3.Does the home smell fresh and feel clean without being clinical?
4.Do residents look comfortable and at ease, or anxious and withdrawn?
5.Does the manager answer your questions openly or deflect?

Could the NHS fund Bricket Wood Care Limited'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