Copper Beech

Updated 18 December 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 20 November 2018. It was completed by one inspector and a newly appointed inspector who observed the process.

The provider sent us a provider information return (PIR). This document is designed to provide key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We gathered this information as part of the inspection visit.

We looked at all the information we had collected about the service. This included the previous inspection report and notifications the registered manager had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We looked at documentation for the three people who live in the service. This included care plans, daily notes and other paperwork, such as medication records. In addition, we looked at records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff supervision and training records.

During our inspection we observed care and support in individuals self-contained flats. We interacted with the people who live in the home. We spoke with three staff members, the registered manager, the operations manager and the deputy manager who were very familiar with the home. We requested information from a range of external professionals both from social care and health care and we received one formal response and no information of concern from others. We spoke with one family member who was visiting their relative on the day of the inspection and saw the comments from two others who had very recently responded to a questionnaire sent by the service.

Updated 18 December 2018

Copper Beech is a care home without nursing which is registered to provide a service for up to four people with learning disabilities and some with physical disabilities. 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. There were three people living in the service on the day of the visit. All accommodation is provided within a single-story building within a village style development. Each person had their own self-contained flat and there were no immediate plans to increase the occupancy to four.

This unannounced inspection took place on 20 November 2018. At this inspection we found the service remained Good overall.

Why the service is rated Good overall:

There is a registered manager running the service who is also the registered manager for a separate adjacent service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

People’s safety was maintained by staff who had been trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and health and safety policies and procedures. Staff clearly understood how to protect people and who to alert if they had any concerns. General environmental/operational risks and risks to individuals were identified and appropriate action was taken to eradicate or reduce them. We have made a recommendation in respect of the frequency of fire safety equipment checks.

There were enough staff on duty at all times to meet people’s diverse, individual needs safely and effectively. The service benefited from a stable and experienced staff team. The provider had robust recruitment procedures. People were given their medicines safely, at the right times and in the right amounts by trained and competent staff.

Staff were well-trained and able to meet people’s health and well-being needs. They were able to respond very effectively to people’s current and changing needs. The service sought advice from and worked with health and other professionals to ensure they met people’s needs.

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

The committed, attentive and knowledgeable staff team provided care with kindness and respect. Individualised and person-centred care planning ensured people’s equality and diversity was respected. People were provided with a range of activities, according to their needs, abilities, health and preferences. Care plans were reviewed by management staff regularly. Care plans contained up to date information and records demonstrated that risk assessments were reviewed within stated timescales.

The registered manager was highly regarded by staff and family members. She was described as supportive, approachable and very focussed on the needs of the people living in the service. The very good quality of care the service provided continued to be reviewed and improved, as necessary.