• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Signature at The Beeches

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

London Road, Brentwood, CM14 4NA 0845 680 4048

Provided and run by:
Signature Senior Lifestyle Operations Ltd

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 28 May 2022

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 team consisted of four inspectors, including a new inspector who was shadowing. One of the inspectors was a qualified physiotherapist who focused on reviewing how staff supported people to move safely. The team also included a nursing advisor and two Experts 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. One Expert by Experience visited the service and spent time speaking to people who used the service and their families. The second made phone calls to people and their families.

Service and service type

Signature at the Beeches is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Signature at the Beeches is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service is dual registered and both providers are responsible for service delivery at the location. The providers are Signature Senior Lifestyle Operations Ltd and WR Operations 1 Limited (registration

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

There was a new manager who had submitted their application to CQC to become the registered manager of the service. The registration was confirmed before the publication of this report, so they are referred in this report as the ‘registered manager’.

Notice of inspection

The first visit to the service was unannounced. We announced our return visit.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service, safeguarding alerts and statutory notifications, which related to the service. Statutory notifications included information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law. 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

We focused on speaking with people who lived at the service and observing how they were cared for. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We also spoke with 15 people and 11 relatives for their feedback on the service.

We spoke with the new registered manager, the clinical services manager, the activity coordinator, the nursing care manager and other senior staff responsible for the running of the service. We spoke with three nurses, eight care staff and two domestic staff. We also met with the providers regional director and former registered manager who visited the servi

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 28 May 2022

SSignature at The Beeches is a care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 110 people. At the time of our inspection there were 70 people using the service. The service mainly supports older people. Some adults with care needs were also living at the service.

The home consists of a variety of studio and one and two bedroom apartments, all of which have ensuite facilities. Accommodation is provided over five floors and includes a unit which specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.

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

The provider and registered manager promoted a positive culture where people’s wishes, needs and rights were at the heart of the service. They had good oversight of the service, ensuring people received care in line with their needs and preferences. Quality checks and audits made a positive difference. Staff were well managed and worked well together as a team.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff assessed risks people might face and enabled them to take positive risks. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs in a personalised manner and keep them safe. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and as prescribed. The provider had minimised the risks of infection, such as COVID-19.

People’s care plans reflected their range of needs. People and these important to them were involved in planning their care. Staff enabled people to access health and social care support. They supported people to eat and drink in line with their preferences. 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.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care. Staff promoted and respected people’s privacy and dignity.

Support was personalised and staff responded to people’s changing needs. There were plentiful activities on offer which promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs. People felt able to raise concerns and be confident they would be listened to and action taken. People received support with their end of life care. We made a recommendation about care planning around end of life.

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 is dual registered. It was registered with us on 27 January 2021 and 30 March 2021 and this is the first inspection. See the background section of this report for more information on dual registered services. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 7 June 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection of a newly registered service.

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.

Follow up

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