Archived: Beechlawns

Updated 7 January 2016

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 7 October 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by one Inspector.

We reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us. Notifications are reports that the provider is required to send to us to inform us about incidents that have happened at the service, such as accidents or a serious injury. We liaised with the Local Authority Commissioning team to identify areas we may wish to focus upon in the planning of this inspection.

We spoke with three people who used the service, two relatives, two staff members, two visiting professionals and the registered manager. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed a range of records about people’s care and how the service was managed. This included looking closely at the care provided to three people by reviewing their care records. We reviewed four staff recruitment and/or disciplinary records, the staff training matrix, three medication records and a variety of quality assurance audits.

Updated 7 January 2016

Beechlawns is registered to provide accommodation for up to seven people who require accommodation and personal care. People who live there may have a range of needs which include learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection seven people were using the service. Our inspection was unannounced and took place on 7 October 2015. Our last inspection took place on 23 November 2013 and all the regulations were met.

The manager was registered with us as is required by law. 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.

People told us they felt confident that the service provided to them was safe and protected them from harm. Staff we spoke with were clear about how they could access and utilise the providers whistle blowing policy.

We observed there were a suitable amount of staff on duty with the skills, experience and training in order to meet people’s needs. People told us that they were able to raise any concerns they had and felt confident they would be acted upon.

People’s ability to make important decisions was considered in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were supported to take food and drinks in sufficient quantities to prevent malnutrition and dehydration. People were supported to access a range of health and social care professionals to ensure their health needs were met.

Staff interacted with people in a positive manner and used a variety of communication methods to establish their consent and/or understanding. Staff maintained people’s privacy and dignity whilst encouraging them to remain as independent as possible.

Staff were aware of how and when to access independent advice and support for people and assisted with this when required.

People were involved in the planning of care and staff delivered care in line with people’s preferences and wishes.

Information and updates about the service were made available to people in meetings and to relatives verbally. The complaints procedure was displayed in a clear and understandable format to maximise people’s knowledge and understanding of how to make a complaint.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the approachable nature and leadership skills of the registered manager. Structures for supervision allowing staff to understand their roles and responsibilities were in place.

Systems for updating and reviewing risk assessments and care plans to reflect people’s level of support needs and any potential related risks were effective.

Quality assurance audits were undertaken regularly by the provider. The registered manager had also ensured that checks on staff were undertaken periodically out of normal working hours.

Medicines were audited daily as they were distributed. There was a clear process for disposing of and recording medicines that were refused or not given.