Archived: Beech Haven Residential Care Home

Updated 11 October 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was conducted by an inspector, a member of the CQC medicines team and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Beech Haven Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We looked at other information we held about the provider including notifications of significant events and their action plan following the last inspection. We asked the local authority for feedback about their experiences of the service.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service, one visiting relative and the staff on duty. We met the owners who also manage the service. The registered manager was not working on the day of the inspection. However, all the family members share equal roles in managing the service.

We observed how people were being cared for and supported. We conducted a partial tour of the environment. We looked at the care records for four people who used the service, recruitment records for three members of staff, records of staff training, and other records used by the provider to manage the service. These included audits and meeting minutes. We checked how medicines were being managed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 11 October 2019

About the service

Beech Haven Residential Care Home is a care home for up to 30 older people. The home is owned and managed by a partnership, which is a family business. At the time of the inspection 25 people were living at the service and one more person was moving into the home on the day of the visit.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were happy living at the home and felt well supported. Some people expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of the food but were otherwise happy. They said the staff were kind and caring, and we saw that the staff interacted well with people, were polite and considerate.

At the previous inspection, we had found problems with the way medicines were managed. These had mostly been addressed and people received their medicines as prescribed. However, further improvements were needed with some records and storage.

The staff felt well supported and had the training and information they needed. The provider carried out checks on their suitability before they started work and assessed their competencies, met with them and gave them guidance about their role and responsibilities.

People were cared for in a way which met their needs and reflected their choices. They were able to make decisions about their lives. They had access to healthcare services and took part in a range of activities.

The service was owned and managed by a family who were involved in the day to day operations. At least one manager was present at the service each day, and people using the service, visitors and staff felt able to speak with them, ask for advice or raise concerns.

There were effective systems for monitoring quality, investigating complaints, incidents and accidents and making improvements.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The rating at the last inspection was requires improvement (23 October 2018)

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.