• Care Home
  • Care home

The Beeches

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Carr Road, Wath Upon Dearne, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S63 7AA (01709) 761803

Provided and run by:
Methodist Homes

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile
Important: We have removed an inspection report for The Beeches from 10 September 2019. The removal of the report is not related to the provider or the quality of this service. We found an issue with some of the information gathered by an individual who supported our inspection. We will reinspect this service as soon as possible and publish a new inspection report.

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 28 October 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

The Beeches is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Beeches is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post, however they were not present during the inspection and had given their notice of employment to the provider. Interim management arrangements were put in place by the provider. This included a manager to support the day to day running of the service and other management support, such as a quality improvement manager and area manager giving input.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service and 14 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the manager, deputy manager, care assistants, quality improvement manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed care plans and records for 4 people. This included people's medicine records and daily care records. We also reviewed various records relating to the day to day management of the service, quality assurance and key policies and procedures.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 28 October 2023

About the service

The Beeches Care Home provides accommodation for people who require personal care. The service can accommodate up to 44 people. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people using the service. The care provided is for people who have needs associated with those of older people. Some people residing at the home were living with dementia.

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

Provider oversights needed to be strengthened to ensure compliance with legislation and fundamental standards. The provider had systems and processes in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service, but they had not always been effective in driving improvements and compliance. Due to shortfalls with systems, processes and recording information the provider had not been able to identify and respond to accidents and incidents effectively to ensure lessons were learnt. Sufficient prompt action was not taken to ensure fire safety issues were addressed in line with the seriousness of the concerns. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team.

Risks were assessed but not always detailed enough to ensure all risks were mitigated. Accident and incident analysis was in place but had been ineffective in identifying themes and trends. Some shortfalls were identified in relation to the management of medicines. We found some shortfalls in the management of the cleanliness of the home which were promptly addressed. Staff had received training in safeguarding and were aware of how to report concerns. People told us they were safe. Staffing levels were maintained but staff needed to be effectively redeployed to ensure they were responsive to people’s needs.

Care plans were in place for people but required further detail to ensure they reflected all care needs. Complaints policies and procedures were in place; however, they had not been effective in capturing how complaints were handled. We made a recommendation regarding complaints. Activities were taking place to meet people’s social and cultural needs.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We made a recommendation about the Mental Capacity Act (MCA).

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 22 February 2020).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about management and safety. This was a focused inspection used to examine those risks.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, responsive and well led sections of this report.

The provider was open and transparent throughout the inspection and took effective action to strengthen their systems and processes and to mitigate risks.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to safety and governance at this inspection. We made recommendations in relation to complaints and mental capacity.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.