Updated 5 February 2025
Date of assessment: 28 April to 12 May 2025. The Beaufort Care Home is a nursing home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 29 people. Some people who live at The Beaufort have dementia or a cognitive impairment. At the time of our assessment there were 22 people using the service. This assessment was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last assessment. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, premises, staffing and good governance. Some improvements were found at this assessment and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, premises and staffing. However, the provider remains in breach of the regulation relating to good governance because not enough improvement was made.
During this assessment we spoke with people who lived at the service, their relatives, staff, the manager, deputy manager and 2 regional managers. Following our visit, we sought feedback from other healthcare professionals. We reviewed care plans, recruitment files, health and safety records and quality assurance records. Whilst some checks were undertaken and quality systems of checking had improved to ensure people received safe care, other quality assurance checks had not been strengthened or improved enough to identify some continuing issues. The manager and regional managers gave us assurances they would continue to improve their quality assurance systems to ensure good oversight of the care people received.
Health and social care professionals described effective joint working with the service which had achieved positive outcomes for people. There were enough staff to support people based on people’s dependency, however the management of the staff shift meant some people had to wait for staff to support them, especially in the mornings. All staff spoken with told us they enjoyed working at The Beaufort Care Home because there was a consistent staff team who knew people well.
People and their relatives were not always involved in assessments and reviews of their needs. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were identified and mitigated against however some care plans required updating and more guidance to inform staff on the management of certain health conditions.
Some records, such as daily monitoring checks were not always completed accurately to demonstrate how effective monitoring took place. Introduction of an electronic system was still being understood by the management and staff which had caused inconsistencies in the quality and accuracy of recording. Leaders and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning and trust. Senior managers told us they were actively supporting the home to improve. Staff felt supported to give feedback and were treated equally, free from bullying or harassment.
We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.