Beech House - Bristol

Updated 28 December 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert 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.

Service and service type

Beech House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with thirteen people who lived at the service and five relatives. As part of their ongoing quality assurance, people, staff and relatives were encouraged to write reflective accounts of their experience using the service. We have referred to these in our report. We spent a period observing how people were spending their time and the interactions between them and the staff team. We did this to assess what the quality of care was for those people who could not describe this for themselves. This was because some people had a degree of cognitive impairment or were living with dementia. We spoke with eight members of staff, as well as the director, registered manager and deputy.

We looked at five people's care records, together with other records relating to their care and the running of the service. This included six staff employment records, policies and procedures, complaints, audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 28 December 2019

About the service

Beech House is a care home that provides personal and nursing care for up to 55 people. The service is provided in accommodation over two floors. At the time of the inspection, 51 people were living at the home.

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

Those people who used the service expressed unreserved satisfaction and spoke highly of all staff and services provided. Comments included, “I am so grateful to everyone, Beech House is indeed outstanding, brilliant and fantastic”, “I would unreservedly recommend the home to others and would happily reside here myself”, “It’s absolutely gorgeous. Extremely good” and “Having had experience of other care homes I have been astonished at the standard of Beech House. This is very much my home now and a very happy one. After the first four days of being here, I called my daughter and told her I am definitely not coming home!”.

The service provided an effective service. Innovative and creative ways to train and develop their staff was based on research and best practice guidelines to enhance quality and safety of the service provision. Improved practice and creative ways had been considered to encourage people who were reluctant to eat or may require help with specific dietary needs for example a soft diet. The home was decorated and maintained to a very high standard whilst maintaining a homely feel. People were consulted about the adaptation and design of their home and choice and preferences were respected. There were various areas to enjoy activity, events and personal private time. The service had been creative in developing areas of the home that would enhance people’s wellbeing.

The service was exceptionally caring and put people at the heart of everything they did. We were introduced to people throughout our visit and they welcomed us. They were relaxed, comfortable and confident in their home. Staff had a good awareness of individuals' needs and treated people in a warm and respectful manner. They were knowledgeable about people's lives before they started using the service. Every effort was made to enhance this knowledge so that people’s life experiences remained meaningful.

The service was exceptionally responsive to people’s health and social needs. People received person centred care and support. Regular monitoring and reviews meant that referrals had been made to appropriate health and social care professionals. Where necessary care and support had been changed to accurately reflect people's needs and improve their health and wellbeing. People were offered a range of activities both at the service and in the local community. People were encouraged to make their views known and the service responded by making changes.

People benefitted from a service that was very well led. The whole staff team had been incredibly proud when they received their outstanding CQC rating in January 2017. The provider, registered manager, deputy and staff team maintained a clear focus on continually seeking to improve the service people received. Everyone demonstrated strong values and, a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service. Good quality assurance systems were in place and based upon regular, scheduled audits, which identified any action required to make improvements. This meant the quality of service people received was monitored on a regular basis and, where shortfalls were identified they were acted upon.

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 Outstanding (published January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.