Beechcroft Nursing and Residential Home

Beechcroft Nursing and Residential Home is a single storey purpose-built care home providing accommodation and nursing and/or personal care to up to 67 people. At the time of our inspection there were 46 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found

Risks to people's health and safety had been assessed and staff took action to keep people safe. However, we have made a recommendation regarding care plans and risk monitoring charts.

Whilst observations showed there enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe, we received mixed feedback from people, family members and staff regarding staffing levels. We have made a recommendation regarding this.

People's medicines were managed and stored safely and records relating to medicine administration were completed accurately. People were protected from incidents of concern or abuse and accidents and incidents were reviewed and analysed to ensure lessons were learnt.

Checks were completed on the environment and equipment used by people to ensure it remained safe. The home was clean and hygienic. Staff responsible for the cleanliness of the service completed regular cleaning tasks. Staff had access to, and appropriately used, PPE to ensure people were protected from the risk of infection.

People's needs were assessed, and care was delivered in line with best practice; this included supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. People were supported to access support from external health and social care professionals when needed.

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's governance systems were effective at identifying issues within the service to help drive necessary improvements. The management team were working with staff to help promote a more positive culture within the home. We received positive feedback from people and family members about the service that was provided.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 26 May 2023).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the overall quality of care provided and poor management of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beechcroft Nursing and Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation in relation to care plans, risk monitoring charts and staffing levels.

Follow Up

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

Beechcroft Nursing and Residential Home is a single storey purpose-built care home providing accommodation and nursing and/or personal care to up to 67 people. At the time of our inspection there were 47 people using the service.

People's experience of using the service and what we found

We identified some improvements were needed to the level of detail and accuracy recorded in people's care plans in relation to identified risks. In addition, we found some monitoring charts used to manage risks associated with food and drink intake and skin condition were either not in place or not consistently completed by staff. The provider was aware of the improvements needed and had already taken some action to address this.

Medicines were managed safely by staff who had received training in medicines administration. People received their medicines at the right times. Where people were prescribed ‘as required’ medicines’ staff ensured these were only administered when needed.

We observed there to be enough staff on duty to support people safely. People told us staff responded to requests for support in a timely manner. Safe recruitment processes were in place to ensure newly recruited staff were suitable to work for the service.

Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns were recorded and acted upon appropriately to keep people safe. Accidents and incidents were subject to review and analysis to look at ways to prevent them occurring in the future.

The home was clean and well-maintained. Regular safety checks were completed on the environment and equipment people used to support with their mobility needs to ensure it remained safe.

People’s needs had been assessed and care was delivered in line with standards, guidance and the law. Staff worked with health and social care professionals to ensure people received the right care and support.

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.

Staff had received necessary training and support to carry out their role. Newly recruited staff were subject to a detailed induction to give them the skills they needed to support people safely.

People received care that was person-centred and based on their needs, wishes and preferences. The service employed an activities co-ordinator who provided a range of activities for people.

Concerns and complaints were recorded and investigated in line with the provider’s complaints policy.

Governance systems were effective at identifying issues and driving improvements. Audits and checks were completed by the provider; these checks had identified the issues we found during the inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 6 September 2022, and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 25 January 2022.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safety of the care people received. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

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.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

Follow up

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