Bescot Lodge Care Home

Bescot Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 26 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 25 older people some who were living with dementia.

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

A lack of oversight meant systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not always effective and had not identified the areas for improvement found at this inspection.

We found medicines were not always stored safely and medicine stocks were not always accurate. Systems and processes for safeguarding and whistleblowing to keep people safe were effective. We found people’s needs and preferences were met by a sufficient number of staff who were recruited safely. Infection control measures were in line with current government guidance.

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.

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 requires improvement (published 14 November 2019).

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 November 2019). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to abuse, medicines storage and movement alarms. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained the same.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report.

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

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

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.

We have identified breaches in relation to a lack of oversight in relation to safe storage of medicines.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Bescot Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 26 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 23 older people some who were living with dementia.

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

Medicines were not consistently stored safely; medicine records were not always accurate and guidance was not in place for some medicines to be administered.

Risks were assessed and care plans were in place, however some lacked detail on meeting people’s specific needs.

The quality checks on the service were not consistently identifying concerns and driving improvements.

People were safe and protected from abuse. Staff understood how to protect people from harm and report any concerns.

If accidents or incidents occurred, action was taken to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again. Staff followed procedures to protect people from the risk of cross infection.

There were enough safely recruited staff on each shift to meet people's needs and keep them safe.

People had their needs assessed and plans were put in place to meet them. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and had received an induction and training.

The home was adapted to meet individual needs and people had personalised their bedrooms. People were supported by consistent staff who knew them and their needs well. People had their health needs met and sought support from health professionals as required.

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.

People had their communication needs assessed and met. Staff encouraged people to make choices about their care and respected their decisions. People were supported by staff who treated people with respect and maintained their dignity.

People received person-centred care and had opportunities to take part in activities and follow their interests. There was a complaint process in place which people understood how to use.

The registered manager was open and accessible to people, relatives and staff. The provider sought ways to learn and make changes and improvements and worked in partnership with other agencies.

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 12 May 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and date of registration.