Beechcare

Updated 28 April 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Beechcare is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Beechcare is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post since the last inspection and was in the process of submitting an application to register.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

People were not able to verbally express their experiences of living in the home. We observed staff interactions with people and observed care and support in communal areas. We spoke with two relatives about their experience of the care and support provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the home manager, locality manager, senior support worker and support workers. We reviewed a range of records including three people's care and support plans and medication records. We also reviewed a number of documents relating to the running of the service, this included staff rotas.

Updated 28 April 2023

About the service

Beechcare is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care to up to 6 people, however they can only accommodate up to 5 people as one bedroom had been changed into office space. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people, people with mental health needs, and people who have a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 3 people using the service.

The service is a bungalow and has 5 bedrooms, the 6th bedroom has been made into an office.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

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. The provider had demonstrated how they were meeting and supporting people in with the principles of Right support, Right care, Right culture.

Right Support:

The provider had made improvements since the last inspection. The provider had worked hard to ensure they were following the RSRCRC guidance. Staff focused on people's strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals, for example, one person was being supported to take their washing to the laundry room and staff told us how they had fun doing it and it became part of their routine. Some people also had goals in their support plan to be as independent as possible with their personal care and staff were supporting this. The provider had made improvements regarding the environment to ensure people were supported in a clean and safe environment.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. Relatives gave positive feedback about the staff and the support they gave. Peoples care and support plans contained relevant and up to date information.

Right Culture:

People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs. People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. People received good quality care and support because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. For example, staff completed training in learning disabilities and Autism, epilepsy and alternative methods of communication.

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 last rating for this service was inadequate (published 07 October 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. 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.

This service has been in Special Measures since 07 October 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 26 July 2022 and rated the service inadequate. Breaches of legal requirements were found. We imposed a condition on the providers registration for this service which required them to send us updates on the action they were taking to address the issues. The provider was compliant with this condition. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beechcare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.