Beechcroft

Updated 26 May 2021

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.

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 was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type

Beechcroft – Torquay 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch Torbay. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed staff interactions with people and spoke with one person who lived at the service, four care staff, the housekeeper, the chef, the administrator, the deputy manager, the registered manager and the provider.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at risk assessments, policy and procedures and quality assurance records. We spoke with a social worker and a community nurse to obtain their views.

Updated 26 May 2021

About the service

Beechcroft -Torquay (hereafter referred to as Beechcroft) is a residential care home registered to provide care and support up to 34 people, aged 65 and over. The service is over three floors, with access to upper floors by stair lifts and a shaft lift. At the time of the inspection there were 34 people living at the service.

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

People lived in a service which was being managed safely in line with current government infection, prevention and control guidance. Since our last inspection, improvements had been made to the way in which people’s laundry was handled.

People now lived in a service which had been assessed for fire safety, and action had been taken to comply with fire regulations. Staff now had a good understanding of the signs of abuse, and of what action to take should they be concerned someone was being abused, mistreated or neglected.

People had their medicines managed safely, and risks associated with people’s care were known and mitigated to ensure their ongoing safety with records now in place.

People were observed to be supported by suitable numbers of staff; however, some staff felt the service was understaffed. The registered manager told us they would take action to speak with staff about how they were feeling, and act as required.

The service now had a registered manager. The registered manager was passionate about getting things right for the benefit of people and was open and transparent when things had gone wrong. There was now an improved learning culture with investigations being carried out when complaints or concerns had been raised. Staff expressed they were well supported and since our last inspection told us they had seen improvements. Overarching governance systems were now in place to help monitor the ongoing quality and safety of the service. The registered manager had created a service improvement plan but expressed how their focus over the last year had been on managing the pandemic and keeping people safe. They shared how they were looking forward to focusing on the future.

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

Rating at the last inspection (and update)

The last rating for the service was Requires Improvement published on (4 September 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion, were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beechcroft – Torquay on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.