Archived: Birch Trees Nursing Home

Birch Trees Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 22 people in one adapted building. The service provides support to people with a range of health conditions, including people with terminal illnesses and/or dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service.

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

People were safe living at the home. One person said, “Day and night-time, there’s always someone around”. People’s risks had been identified and assessed, and were managed safely. People received their medicines as prescribed. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s care and support needs. The home was very clean and well-maintained.

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 access to a range of healthcare professionals and services. People’s nutritional needs were met. One person commented, “The quality of the food is good, but I don’t have much appetite. Because I eat slowly, they do special things for me to tempt me and don’t rush me”.

People were looked after by kind and caring staff who knew them well. People were treated with dignity and respect, and their diverse needs were catered for.

Personalised care was the focus of the home. People were encouraged to stay in contact with their family and friends. One person said, “My wife visits once a week. We can sit here in my room or outside in the summer”. A relative said they had visited other homes before finally choosing Birch Trees Nursing Home for their loved one and said, “We liked it so much and we’re happy with the care here”.

The management team were involved in all aspects of the home. People knew who the managers were and commented they saw the home manager regularly. Staff felt supported by the provider and the management team. One staff member said, “We became people’s family through Covid when relatives couldn’t visit”.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

This service was registered with us on 11 June 2019 and this was their first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 13 December 2016.

Why we inspected

The inspection was undertaken in order to give the home a rating under the new provider.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.