We carried out a review of the data available to us about Abbeyfield - The Beeches on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Abbeyfield - The Beeches, you can give feedback on this service.
Abbeyfield - The Beeches is a supported living service and registered to provide personal care. People using the service lived in flats which were all situated over three buildings on one site. People using the service had access to communal facilities including a lounge and dining facility. At the time of inspection 15 people were receiving personal care. Not everyone who used the supported living service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe and received support from staff when they needed it. The service identified where people needed additional support and equipment to help keep them safe. Risks to people were usually assessed and managed although some information was out of date; the registered manager immediately reviewed and updated the relevant assessments. Staff and the management team were confident the service promoted an open culture and everyone was encouraged to report accident and incidents. Staff understood their responsibilities under safeguarding people from abuse procedures and were confident the management team would act swiftly and deal with any issues appropriately. Systems were in place to ensure medicines had been ordered, received, stored and disposed of appropriately.
Staff received appropriate induction, training and regular updates; they felt supported in their role. People received good support at meal times and had pleasant dining experiences when they chose to use the communal dining facility. 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. Systems were in place to meet people's health needs. A visiting health professional told us, “They have caring staff who know the residents well. I never have any concerns.”
Feedback from people was consistently positive. They told us they were well treated. One person said, “I’m happy with things. It’s reassuring someone is there when I need them.” People spoke with genuine warmth when sharing their experience about staff and management. Staff were confident people received good care; they understood how to promote privacy, dignity and independence.
The service delivered care that met people’s needs and preferences. New style care plans were being introduced which provided good instruction for delivering person centred care. The management team acknowledged some existing care plans were not up to date but were confident this would be addressed once the new plans were fully in place. The service offered people opportunities to engage in social and leisure activities. An activity calendar informed people of forthcoming events. One person said, “There is something every day.” People felt comfortable talking to staff and management and were confident any issues raised would be resolved.
People who used the service and staff told us the registered manager led the service well. Everyone was encouraged to share views and put forward ideas. Quality management systems were usually effective although some issues identified during the inspection had not been picked up by the provider. The management team were responsive and addressed issues promptly. They introduced measures to improve their systems and prevent the same shortfalls from recurring.
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 13 July 2017).
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.
Abbeyfield The Beeches is registered to provide personal care and support to people living in the self-contained apartments within the complex. People living in the apartments have access to communal facilities including a lounge and dining facility. At the time of inspection the agency was providing care and support to 21 people.
We inspected The Beeches on the 3 May 2017 and the inspection was announced. This was the first inspection of the service since the provider changed to Abbeyfield The Dales Limited.
At the time of inspection there was a registered manager in post. 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.
There were systems in place that ensured people received their care on time and people were kept safe and their needs were met. Safeguarding adult's procedures were robust and staff understood how to safeguard the people they supported. There was a whistle blowing procedure available and staff said they would use it if they needed to. The service had systems in place to manage accidents and incidents whilst trying to reduce reoccurrence.
Medicine records showed that people were receiving their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals. There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs and there was an out of hours on call system. The provider conducted appropriate recruitment checks before staff started work to ensure they were suitable to work in the caring profession.
Staff received supervision and training both to meet people’s needs and to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the service received appropriate induction training.
The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and staff demonstrated good knowledge of the people they supported and their capacity to make decisions.
People’s nutritional needs and preferences were met and people had access to health and social care professionals when required.
People were involved in planning the care and support they received and staff respected their wishes and met their needs. However, we recommended the registered manager reviewed all the support plans in plans to ensure they provided accurate and up to date information.
People who used the service and their relatives knew about the complaints procedure and said they believed their complaints would be investigated and action taken if necessary. People told us they thought the service was well run and that the registered manager was supportive.
There were effective quality assurance monitoring systems in place and the registered manager recognised the importance of regularly monitoring the quality of the service provided. People and their relatives were provided with opportunities to provide feedback about the service.
The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities in relation to notifying the Commission [CQC] about reportable incidents.
We found no breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.