All inspections: The Beeches - Care Quality Commission

When visited the service on 12 and 13 July 2013 we spent four and a half hours in the communal rooms of two units including the unit for people with dementia. Most people were not able to give us their views on the service because of their complex needs and conditions. We used a variety of ways to understand their experience of the service including observing how they were looked after, looking at their records and talking to workers.

We saw that people living in both units were clean and well groomed. They related well to care workers and responded to what was going on around them. Workers and managers treated people with respect and warmth and encouraged them to positively engage in their day and their care.

A relative of a person who lived in the home and who developed dangerously sore skin earlier this year said he was disappointed that the home had not done better for his parent at that time.

Some of the people that use the service at The Beeches have dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand the experiences people have we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences. Some people using the service were able to tell us about their experiences. They told us they were generally happy with the service they received and told us 'staff are lovely'.

We saw that staff were respectful to the people living in the home. Staff engaged with people to help them take part in activities. They offered them choices of what they wanted to do and people looked happy. People had mixed views about the activities on offer to them. Staff were working to increase the range of activities available for people.

Comments about the quality of the food available in the home varied. However systems were in place to try and ensure people received the food they liked. We found and records confirmed that people's views and ideas were listened to and acted on to improve the service they were receiving.

The people living in the home and their representatives who we spoke with generally expressed satisfaction with the service offered by the home and the support people received. People were satisfied that they had access to other health professionals when needed including GPs, district nurses, opticians and chiropodist.

Comments included:

'Look after him wonderfully.'

'Reasonable here can find my way around.'

'Settled in really well now. No issues at all.'

'People are properly looked after.'

'Can get up and go to bed when I want.'

People were supported to maintain their independence. People were able to administer their own medicines if they were assessed as being safe to do so. We spoke with one person who told us 'I do my own medicines, I lock them away.' People expressed mixed views about the activities that were on offer at the home. Some people told us they got 'bored', others told us there were some activities on offer.

The comments we received indicated that the people living in the home and their representatives were satisfied with the range and quantities of food available and that care workers were available to help people when needed. These included:

'I go down to dinner sometimes, I have soft food. The chef comes and asks what I want.'

'Food not bad we get a choice.'

'Food looks good they have a choice.'

'Lots of bites and pieces. Home made cakes are nice.'

'Staff do help at meal times.'

People told us they had a good, friendly relationship with the staff, describing staff as 'Very nice lovely girls'. The representatives of the people living in the home we spoke with all commented that they felt there should be more staff on duty. Comments we received included:

'Really busy could be more staff'.

'Definitely not enough staff.'

'Sometimes a bit tight, one or two staff on. Need another staff on duty to interact.'

'Thin on the ground for staff.'

Archived: The Beeches

All Inspections

12 July 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

12 September 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

23 May 2011

During a routine inspection