Care home · Herne Bay
St Brelades
Illustrative photo, not of St Brelades- Address
- 5-6 Beacon Hill, Herne Bay, CT6 6AU
- Run by
- St Brelades Retirement Homes Limited (2 services)
- Service
- Residential care home
- Beds
- 37 (registered with CQC)
- Registered with CQC
- December 2011 (14 years)
- Registered manager
- Rebekah Anne Gifford
- Company check
- Active, trading since 2001 (25 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 04287163)
- Last CQC check
- 17 Feb 2023
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,460–£1,780 a week for residential care (dementia). An estimate based on local published fees. Ask for a written quote. How we estimate
CQC regulated activities: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
Read the full CQC inspection report · CQC location ID 1-344331849
St Brelades at a glance
Registered with CQC as a residential care home, St Brelades is based in Herne Bay, run by St Brelades Retirement Homes Limited. It supports older people, with registered specialisms in dementia.
Its latest CQC rating is Requires improvement overall (February 2023). Safe and Well-led were rated Requires improvement. It is one of 19 CQC-registered care homes in and around Herne Bay; 13 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
Strengths and weak spots in the ratings
For St Brelades, Safe and Well-led are rated below Good; 3 other areas are Good.
Across Kent, 92 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Safe (20%), while 110 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Well-led (24%).
If you are considering it, read the Safe and Well-led section of the report first and ask what has changed since the inspection.
CQC ratings, area by area
- Safe92 of 465 in Kent
- Effective410 of 465 in Kent
- Caring416 of 465 in Kent
- Responsive404 of 465 in Kent
- Well-led110 of 465 in Kent
CQC key question ratings, published 17 February 2023. Under each rating: how many care homes in Kent share it.
Earlier inspections
- Dec 2015
- Mar 2018
- Jul 2022
- Feb 2023
- Today Rating 3 years old
Overall ratings CQC has published for this location, oldest first. The latest rating is an improvement on the one before.
Published inspection reports
- CQC inspection report 17 February 2023
- CQC inspection report 7 July 2022
- CQC inspection report 23 March 2018
- CQC inspection report 29 December 2015
- Inspection report 2 May 2014
- Inspection report 30 April 2013
The kitchen's hygiene score
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 4 (good), from an inspection on 3 July 2026 by Canterbury City. Meals matter in a care home: ask to see a menu and whether residents can choose.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "St Brelades Retirement Homes Ltd"). Open Government Licence.
Area and map
- Ward
- Heron
- Council
- Kent County Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- NHS integrated care board
- NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
- Type of area
- Urban; further from a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 20% most deprived areas in England
- Postcode district
- Care homes in CT6 (26)
Bigger map · How to get there · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Around the building
- Bus stop 160 m (2 min walk) · 16 stops within 600 m
- Railway station Herne Bay, 1.5 km (18 min walk)
- GP surgery William Street Surgery, 550 m (7 min walk)
- Pharmacy Boots, 380 m (5 min walk)
- Shop Kenwins, 200 m (3 min walk)
- Park Burton Down, 850 m (11 min walk)
- Café Salt and Light, 240 m (3 min walk)
- Place of worship Herne Bay United Church, 420 m (5 min walk)
- Library Herne Bay Library, 570 m (7 min walk)
From OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), measured in a straight line, so allow extra for the actual route on foot.
Ward and NHS boundaries from official postcode data, Open Government Licence.
Specialisms
Registration details from CQC.
Who runs it
St Brelades is run by St Brelades Retirement Homes Limited (company 04287163), incorporated in 2001, 10 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 2 active directors and there is no insolvency history.
Its registered business activity is residential care for older and disabled people.
St Brelades Retirement Homes Limited runs 2 CQC-registered services; 1 of the 2 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (50%), against 83% for the same mix of services across England.
All 2 are in Kent, so it is a local operator rather than a national chain.
History with CQC
St Brelades has been registered with CQC since December 2011, about 14 years.
CQC has published 4 overall ratings for it (2015–2023), starting at Good; it has gone up 1 and down 1 time, and is now Requires improvement.
The rating is 3 years old. CQC decides when to return based on risk, so age alone is not a warning sign; still, ask who the manager is now.
The CQC website holds 6 reports for it, the latest from 17 February 2023.
Budgeting for this home
We estimate St Brelades at £1,460–£1,780 a week for residential care (dementia), based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £76k–£93k.
Ask what notice is given before a fee increase and what triggers one.
Kent Council can help with costs for people with savings under £23,250, starting with a free assessment.
What inspectors found
- Improvements had been made at the service since our last inspection.
- However, further improvements were required to ensure people always received a good quality service.
- Further improvement was needed to ensure people were always offer medicines overtly before they were administered covertly.
- Medicines records were now accurate and medicated patches were applied in line with the manufacturer's guidance.
Inspected 10 January 2023; report published 17 February 2023; supporting 37 people at the time. In CQC's words, from its published findings (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.
How it fits locally
Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 16 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is The Hailey Residential Care Home, under 0.5 miles away.
10 of the 22 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Heron ward, classed by ONS as urban (further from a major town or city), among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Kent and Medway ICB.
Within about a 10-minute walk there is a GP surgery (7 min), a pharmacy (5 min), a shop (3 min), a café (3 min) and a bus stop (2 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.
Family reviews
There are no reviews of St Brelades yet. If you know the service, your experience could help someone else.
Reviews are from families and clients and are separate from CQC ratings. Each one is checked against a real email address; we publish good and bad reviews and providers cannot edit or remove them. How reviews work.
St Brelades in local context
- Rated Requires improvement. Across Kent, 79% of the 464 rated care homes are Good or Outstanding and 18 are Outstanding.
- Its rating (February 2023) is more recent than 59% of care home ratings in Kent.
- With 37 beds it is larger than 64% of care homes in Kent, where the typical home has 25.
- Registered with CQC in 2011: it has been registered longer than 50% of care homes in the area.
- It lists 2 specialisms with CQC; the typical care home in Kent lists 3.
- Areas CQC rated below Good: Safe (22% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here); Well-led (26% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here). Ask the provider what has changed since.
Based on the CQC register for Kent as at Oct 2026.
Closest alternatives
Guides for families
Herne Bay: care homes inspected recently
- The CumberlandApr 2025
- Strode Park HouseFeb 2026
Quick answers about St Brelades
- Who is the registered provider for St Brelades?
- The registered provider is St Brelades Retirement Homes Limited, according to CQC.
- How big is St Brelades?
- St Brelades is registered for up to 37 residents. Ask about current vacancies and whether rooms have en-suite facilities.
- Is St Brelades rated well for safety?
- The five CQC areas: Safe: Requires improvement; Effective: Good; Caring: Good; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Requires improvement. Safe and Well-led are the sections most worth your time.
- What are St Brelades's fees?
- St Brelades has not published its fees with us. Residential care home typically costs £1,450 a week (average 2026 self-funder fees in South East). Request a written quote and check what is charged on top.
- What services is St Brelades registered for?
- Registration for St Brelades covers: residential homes. Check which of these it offers today.
- Is St Brelades regulated by the Care Quality Commission?
- Registered, yes: location 1-344331849 on the Care Quality Commission register, listed as a care home and was rated Requires improvement overall in February 2023.
- Where is St Brelades based?
- It is at 5-6 Beacon Hill, Herne Bay, CT6 6AU.
- When was St Brelades last inspected?
- The latest rating is dated 17 February 2023, 3 years ago; ask whether there have been changes since.
- Is St Brelades registered for dementia care?
- Yes. Dementia is one of the specialisms on its CQC registration. Ask how many carers or staff have dementia training.
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Information: Care Quality Commission, Oct 2026 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Sections in the provider's own words are theirs; we compiled everything else from public data. The Care Panel is independent and not a care provider.