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.

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

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection on day one. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, they made telephone calls to relatives of people living at The Beeches but did not visit the service. Two inspectors carried out the inspection on day two.

Service and service type

The Beeches Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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

We did not give notice of this inspection but made a telephone call, on both days of inspection, to the registered manager on our arrival at the service to let them know we were there.

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, Healthwatch and professionals who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the project and quality lead and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. After the first day of inspection, we sent a letter to the nominated individual with a summary of our concerns and asked them how they would address them. We reviewed their response and actions.

We spoke with eight members of staff. We spoke, on the telephone with nine relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. Due to COVID-19 we currently minimise the time spent in services. Because of this, we shared contact details with the registered manager for any staff or people living at the home who wished to speak with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records, handover records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the manager and nominated individual to validate evidence found.

We made an organisational safeguarding adults referral to the local authority regarding this service.