Archived: Beech Grove Care Services

Updated 29 January 2015

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 and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

One inspector carried out this inspection. The service was given short notice about our visit in line with our current methodology.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications the provider had made to us and the Provider Information Record (PIR) that they had completed. This is a form that asks the provider to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also had contact with the local authority safeguarding team and the commissioners of the service to obtain their views about the service.

We visited the office of the service on 26 November 2014. We talked with the registered provider and the administrator about the day to day running of the service and also looked at a range of records held by the service which included, care records, staff recruitment files, computerised rotas and some policies and procedures.

Following our visit we spoke on the telephone with two people who used the service, six relatives and two care workers to ask them for their views and opinions about the service.

Updated 29 January 2015

Beech Grove Care Services is registered to provide personal care in people’s own homes. This was an announced visit which took place on 26 November 2014.

The last inspection of Beech Grove Care Services took place on 3 July 2013 when it was found to be meeting all the regulatory requirements we looked at.

The registered manager for the service was not available at the time of our visit. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered provider, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were 25 people using the service at the time of our inspection who were supported by a staff team of 12 care workers, which included the registered provider and registered manager.

People and relatives who we spoke with said that they felt safe with the care workers who supported them. People told us that they were always introduced to a care worker before they started to receive support from them.

We saw that there were recruitment and selection procedures in place to help protect people who used the service from coming into contact with staff who were unsuitable to work with vulnerable people.

No issues were raised by people who used the service and relatives about care workers skills and ability to carry out the job. However, we found that the staff team training record showed significant gaps in both the online and external basic training, which should be undertaken by staff.

The team training record showed that most of the staff had not received any training in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards. This training would help provide care workers with guidance about their responsibilities under this legislation which is in place to safeguard the rights of people who may lack the capacity to make their own decisions.

We looked at the support arrangements for six people who used the service. Rotas’ showed that people received consistent support from care workers. Relatives we spoke with confirmed that this was the case. One person said “We have consistent care. This is really important to ensure that [my relative’s] individual needs are met.” Two relatives told us that they worked with the care workers as a team. On relative commented, “[my relative] always knows who is coming as they have a copy of the rota.”

We saw a copy of the risk assessment which was completed for each person who used the service. The risk assessment covered the person’s home, security arrangements, suitable hygiene facilities, equipment such as hoists, fire safety which included checking smoke alarms were fitted. Where people needed support with personal care, staff had access to disposable gloves, aprons and hand gel to help prevent the risk of cross infection.

A relative said that the care the person who used the service received had been “First class, very professional they know how to care. This has given me the confidence to step back a little” and “They [care workers] do not speak to my relative like a child.” Another relative said “I do trust them and I have peace of mind.” And “I would not leave [my relative] if I was not confident they were safe or being cared for properly.”

People who used the service and staff told us that the registered manager and the registered provider were very approachable and supportive. The registered provider told us they were involved in attending local partnership meetings. This helped them to keep up to date with changing legislation and guidance.