Beckfield House Residential Home

Updated 9 November 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The first day of the inspection was completed by one inspector and one assistant inspector and completed by one inspector on the second day.

Service and service type

Beckfield House Residential Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at information sent to us since the last inspection such as notifications about accidents and safeguarding alerts. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service, two relatives, two care staff, the cook and the activities co-ordinator. We also spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We completed a tour of the environment to look at the cleanliness of the service and the facilities available for people. We also looked at a range of documentation including two people’s care files and medication records for three people. We looked at a selection of documentation for the management and running of the service and two staff files.

After the inspection

We were sent further information which included care plans and medication protocols.

Updated 9 November 2019

About the service

Beckfield House Residential Home is a care home in the village of Heighington. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to 27 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 21 people lived at the service.

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

People’s medicines were administered as prescribed. However, the provider’s medication policies and procedures were not always followed. Care plans did not always guide staff how to manage risks associated with people’s healthcare needs. Though staff were knowledgeable about the risks and the support people needed. Some areas of the service and equipment could not be appropriately cleaned due to being worn. We have made a recommendation about monitoring equipment. Quality assurance systems had not identified or resolved shortfalls in a timely manner.

People were happy with the care provided as staff were caring and respectful. People said, “I like it. It's friendly, cosy, like a home from home really. [Staff] are all very pleasant.” Staff respected people as individuals and supported people to maintain their independence. People told us staff maintained their privacy and dignity.

There was enough staff to meet people’s needs. Recruitment, induction and ongoing training processes helped ensure only suitable staff were employed and that they had the required skills and knowledge. Staff were supported by the management team and received supervision, appraisals and attended team meetings.

People were offered a variety of meals and staff worked to ensure people had options they liked. People were supported to access healthcare services and staff followed professional advice. People’s rooms were personalised, and signs were used to help people find their way around. Activities were available for people and visitors were welcome at any time.

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.

Relatives and staff were happy with the management of the service; they could approach them at any time, felt supported and were confident any issues would be quickly addressed. People, their relatives and staff were involved in the development of the service.

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 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of medicines and the monitoring and addressing quality shortfalls at this inspection. 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.