The Mead

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 22 June 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of Assessment: 6 April to 6 May. The Mead is a residential care service providing personal care for up to 60 people. Some people were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 56 people were living at the service.

At our inspection in 2017, we rated this service as good. Since this inspection there have been 3 changes of registered manager, with the last manager deregistering in April 2026. A new manager had recently started at the home. Following this assessment, the rating has changed to 'requires improvement'. The provider was in breach of regulations relating to safe care and treatment, and good governance.

The provider had not always mitigated risks to people in a timely manner, and there were shortfalls in care planning and risk assessment processes. We also identified concerns relating to medicines management. At times, there were not enough staff to care for people; we discussed this with the new manager, who told us they would review how staff were deployed. Quality assurance systems needed improvement to ensure that there was sufficient oversight of the service, as audits had been completed but did not identify the issues we found during our assessment. The new manager was proactively reviewing how care was being delivered and could be improved.

The home needed some redecoration, but it was clean and had a homely atmosphere, and people were protected from the risk of harm.

People’s health was monitored and appropriate referrals were made to other healthcare professionals when necessary. People had enough to eat and drink and were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff sought consent from people before providing care and protected people’s dignity.

People were supported by staff who were caring, kind, and familiar with people’s needs and preferences. Staff were observed speaking respectfully to people, explaining what they were doing, offering reassurance, and taking time to support people to make choices, particularly during mealtimes.

We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.