Beech Tree Hall

Updated 26 February 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 10 February 2021 and was announced.

Updated 26 February 2021

About the service

Beech Tree Hall is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.

People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. Beech Tree Hall accommodates up to 17 people in one adapted building that is divided into four flats. The service supports younger people with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection 15 people were using the service. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However. the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. Staff were discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People were safe and they were supported by staff who were skilled and competent to carry out their roles and responsibilities.

Risks to people's safety had been identified and managed. There were enough staff to support people. The provider carried out checks on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in the home. Infection control was well managed and the home was clean and free from hazards.

The staff knew people well and were kind and caring. There was a strong focus throughout the service on respecting people’s dignity. Staff planned and provided care to meet people's needs and to take account of their preferences.

People were offered choices around their meals and maintained a well-balanced diet. People received access to health care services when required. Various professionals were involved in providing healthcare to people.

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.

Feedback about the home was positive. The focus of the service was on providing people with a service that placed them at the centre of their care. The provider took action promptly when concerns were shared with them. They had systems to share learning from incidents with the staff team to improve the service further.

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

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 18 January 2019).

The provider breached regulation 17 (governance). They completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.