Brookside

99 High Street, Kempston, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 7BS

01234852324

Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

26 March 2026

Provider

Bedford Borough Council

Beds

22 beds

About Brookside

Brookside is a residential care home in Bedford. Details of the most recent CQC findings are set out below.

Brookside, in Bedford, supports autistic people and people with a learning disability or dementia. The CQC rated the home requires improvement overall, finding breaches around safety and governance. Inspectors found some safeguarding incidents had not been reported, environmental risks were not always well managed, staff training gaps remained, and medicine and hydration monitoring needed improvement.

On the positive side, staff were found to understand people well and interacted with them kindly and respectfully, seeking consent appropriately. People using the service said they felt safe and cared for, and relatives described their relatives as settled and happy, with records showing regular engagement in meaningful activities.

Source: CQC assessment, 18 May 2026

Specialist Care

Learning disabilitiesOlder peoplePhysical disabilitiesSensory impairmentsYounger 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: 22 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · MK42 7BS

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Learning disabilities; Physical disabilities; 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.

Assessment published 18 May 2026. Assessment date recorded: 26 March 2026.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 18 May 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment: 31 March to 10 April 2026.
Brookside is a care home supporting autistic people, people with a learning disability or dementia. There were 18 people living at the service at the time of our assessment.
We assessed the service against 'Right support, right care, right culture' guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
We found 2 breaches of the legal regulations concerning safety and governance.We identified incidents that were potential safeguarding concerns that had not been reported. Risks relating to the environment were not always well managed. Staff had not received all training relating to the health needs of the people they were supporting. Topical medicines such as creams were not always managed safely. People’s hydration needs were not always monitored.
However, staff had a good understanding of people and the risks they could experience. Staff received regular supervision and told us they felt supported by leaders. Staff understood the importance of seeking consent from people. We observed staff and leaders interacted with people kindly and respectfully. A staff member said, “I enjoy my job, I like the people and I like the work.”

Safe: Requires Improvement
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-led: Requires Improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
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 Brookside'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 Brookside, 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 Brookside, 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 Brookside'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