All inspections: Bewick House - Care Quality Commission

Staff members on duty were observed speaking to people in a kind and respectful way. We asked three people, who lived at the home, about their plans for the day and they told us that they were going out with staff to the local shop. Two people were away on holiday in Blackpool with support staff from the home. People told us they; 'Liked all the staff' and that they; 'Felt safe' at Bewick House.

Support plans had recently been improved and showed how people had been involved in writing how their own plans which described how people wanted their care and support to be provided to them.

The home made sure that people's nutritional needs were met and we saw the kitchen was well equipped and checked for safety. There was also a range of other checks in place to ensure the home was safe and well maintained.

There were enough staff on duty to meet the needs of the people living at Bewick House and we saw that staffing levels were about to be increased as there were plans for a new person to move into the service.

Staff members on duty were observed speaking to people in a kind and respectful way. We asked two people, who lived at the home, about their plans for the day and they told us that they were going out with staff to the local shop. People told us they 'Liked all the staff' and that they 'Felt safe' at Bewick House.

We saw support plans were in the process of being reviewed by the provider to ensure they were more person centred and during the course of our visit one person was busy organising their own review in the way they wanted it to be held. They were being supported in this by the home's manager.

The home had clear policies and procedures in place for the safe recruitment of staff and we found records we looked at to be up-to-date and stored securely.

Information taken from what people and members of staff told us indicated that there were many safeguards in place to meet people's needs and therefore there was less likelihood of people exhibiting behaviour that challenged.

One person told us about his person centred plan and was able to contribute fully to it. He and his key worker reviewed it once a month. He was also able to review and contribute to his care plan and he knew about his health action plan.

He explained that he went out and about as often as he wanted to, he went to the local pub for meals out as well as just drinks, he went swimming and he was supported to attend the football match when his favourite team played at home.

The people that we spoke with told us that they really enjoyed living at Bewick House. One person told us 'I love this place.'

People told us that they were given a choice about how they decorated their room and the activities that they took part in. One person told us 'I love my bedroom, I picked the paint colour and I chose the curtains too' another said 'I have a season ticket to Darlington football club and I go to lots of the home games. I even went to see them playing at Wembley.'

The people that we spoke with told us that they were well cared for. One person said 'Everyone here is really nice, and they look after me really well.'

The people we spoke to told us that they were very happy with the staff who worked at the home. One person said 'The staff are all really nice here.'

These older reports are from our old approaches to inspection, including those from before CQC was created.

Archived: Bewick House

All Inspections

31 October 2013

During a routine inspection

22 January 2013

During a routine inspection

1 February 2012

During a themed inspection looking at Learning Disability Services

25 November 2011

During a routine inspection

Reports under our old system of regulation