The inspection took place on 28 January 2015 and it was unannounced. We carried out this inspection in response to some concerns received. The areas of concerns centred on the delivery of care to people and management of the home.
Beechfields is a registered care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to nine older people. At the time of our inspection, eight people lived at the home. The home is a small family run care home with four members of staff. All the facilities were on the ground floor and every person had a single room with en-suite facilities. There was a large easily accessible garden and views from all the bedrooms.
There was a registered manager at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Staff had not received one to one supervision, which enabled the registered manager to identify future training needs and support them to meet people’s needs. We have made a recommendation about this.
There were no formal processes of involving and for gaining the views of staff, people and relatives, such as staff meetings, resident’s meetings and surveys on aspects of the service. We have made a recommendation about this.
All of the people who were able to converse with us said that they felt safe in the home; and said that if they had any concerns they were confident these would be quickly addressed by the staff or the registered manager.
The provider had systems in place to manage safeguarding matters and make sure that safeguarding alerts were raised with other agencies, such as the local authority safeguarding team, in a timely manner.
All people had risk assessments in place to identify risks that may be involved when meeting people’s needs. These risk assessments were reviewed in December 2014. Accident records were kept and reviewed to look for trends. This enabled the staff to take immediate action to minimise or prevent accidents.
Staff were not hurried or rushed and when people requested care or support, this was delivered quickly. The provider operated safe recruitment procedures.
Medicines were managed, stored and administered safely. Clear and accurate medicines records were maintained.
Staff knew each person well and had a good knowledge of the needs of people who lived at the home. Training records showed that staff had completed training in a range of areas that reflected their job role.
Staff received Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) training to make sure they knew how to protect people’s rights. Staff understood the importance of obtaining consent from people before care or treatment was provided.
People said the food was good. The menu offered variety and choice on a daily basis. It provided people with a nutritious and well-balanced diet.
People and their relatives were involved in their care planning, and staff supported people with health care appointments and visits from health care professionals. Care plans were amended immediately to show any changes, and care plans were routinely reviewed when necessary to check they were up to date.
People were always treated with kindness. Staff were patient and encouraged people to do what they could for themselves, whilst allowing people time for the support they needed. People were able to make choices and their independence was promoted.
Staff had suitable training and experience to meet people’s assessed needs. They were informally supervised and adequately supported by the registered manager and provider. However, this was not formally documented.
People’s needs were fully assessed with them before they moved to the home to make sure that the home could meet their needs. Assessments were reviewed with the person and their relatives. People were encouraged to take part in activities and leisure pursuits of their choice, and to go out into the community as they wished.
People knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy.
People spoke positively about the way the home was run. The provider had a clear set of vision and values, which were observed being implemented by both the registered manager and staff. The registered manager and staff understood their respective roles and responsibilities.
The home had a system to monitor and review the quality of service they provided. Prompt action was taken to improve the home and put right any shortfalls they had found. Information from the analysis of accidents and incidents was used to identify changes and improvements to minimise the risk of them happening again.