Archived: Standon Hall Care Home (The Beeches)

Updated 25 March 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 25 November 2014 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and a specialist dementia advisor.

The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the home such as feedback from commissioners and notifications of incidents/safeguarding concerns that had occurred at the service.

We spoke with two relatives, five staff and the registered manager. We were unable to speak with people who lived at Standon Hall (The Beeches) because they had difficulties communicating. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We observed care and support in communal areas and also looked around the service.

We viewed five records about people’s care and records that showed how the home was managed which included staff training and induction records for staff employed at the home and audits completed by the registered manager. We also viewed seven people’s medication records.

Updated 25 March 2015

We inspected Standon Hall (The Beeches) on 25 November 2014 which was unannounced. At the last inspection on 29 May 2014, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements to the way they supported people who had behaviours that challenged, safeguarded people from abuse, how they managed cleanliness and infection control. We found that these actions had been completed.

Standon Hall (The Beeches) is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 34 people. All the people who lived at the home had a type of dementia. This meant that for most people, their dementia was characterised by confusion, disorientation and forgetfulness. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people who used the service because part of the building had been decommissioned as it was not in a suitable state of repair.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We could not be assured that people received their medicines as required because medicines were not always recorded safely.

People’s risks were assessed. We saw that staff carried out support in a safe way whilst they ensured that people’s independence was promoted.

We saw that staff followed infection control procedures to keep people safe from the risks associated with infection.

We saw that there were sufficient staff available to meet people’s assessed needs. The provider had an effective system in place to monitor the staffing levels against the dependency needs of people who used the service.

We saw that staff treated people with compassion, dignity and respect. Staff listened to people and encouraged them to make decisions about their care.

Some people who used the service were unable to make certain decisions about their care. We found that mental capacity assessments had not always been carried out in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and we could not be assured that decisions were made in people’s best interests when they are unable to do this for themselves.

Staff received regular training which ensured they had the knowledge and skills required to meet people’s needs. Staff told us that they felt supported by the registered manager.

The provider promoted an open culture. Staff told us that the management were approachable and that they listened to them. The provider encouraged staff to be involved with the development of the service provided.

Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided, but some improvements were needed to ensure that actions were in place where concerns had been identified.

We identified breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.