We spent a day at the home, talking to and observing people who lived in the home and staff. We sampled the records. After the visit we spoke to several relatives and professional visitors to the home on the telephone to find out their views. We considered all the evidence we had gathered under the outcomes we inspected. We used the information to answer the five questions we always ask;
' Is the service caring?
' Is the service responsive?
' Is the service safe?
' Is the service effective?
' Is the service well led?
This is a summary of what we found:
Is the service safe?
We spoke to several people who lived at The Beeches. People told us they felt safe. One person told us, 'We have no worries on that count; they look after us well.'
People were safe and their health and welfare needs were being met because there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty who had appropriate skills and experience.
We found that the home's safeguarding procedures were robust and staff understood their role in safeguarding the people they supported. We checked staff training records and saw that staff had received recent training in safeguarding vulnerable adults.
CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, (DoLS), which applies to care homes. We found that the manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the law.
We checked people's care plans and found them to be detailed, relevant and up to date. This meant that people were receiving safe and appropriate care.
We found that care was provided in an environment that was safe, accessible, clean and adequately maintained.
Is the service effective?
People told us that they were happy with the care they received and the care staff who supported them. We found that care staff knew the people they supported very well.
Staff training records showed that staff had received appropriate training in a number of relevant topics including: food hygiene, dealing with dementia, moving and handling and infection control. This meant that staff had the appropriate skills and knowledge to ensure that people received safe, appropriate and effective care.
People's needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. We saw that people had regular access to a range of health professionals which included general practitioners, dentists, chiropodists and opticians.
People had a good quality of life, with plenty of activities inside the home and in the community. One person told us, 'We have fun here.'
Is the service caring?
People were supported by kind and attentive staff. Staff demonstrated that they treated people with respect and they sought consent before providing care and support. We saw that care staff were patient with the people they were supporting.
People told us that the staff were helpful and provided examples of this. Relatives told us, 'Everyone's got time ' nothing is too much trouble' and another said 'The staff are all nice and they are so passionate about what they do.'
We concluded that people had a good experience of care and support which was delivered with compassion and respected their dignity and human rights.
Is the service responsive?
Records showed that meetings were held between staff, people using the service and their relatives to discuss on-going concerns and improvements at the home including meals, activities and laundry.
We found that care staff had regular one to one supervision meetings. This meant that care staff had the opportunity to discuss their training and development needs, welfare and any concerns they might have about the people they were caring for.
People living at the care home and their relatives told us that they would have no hesitation in telling the manager and staff if they were unhappy or had any complaints about the service they received. We were told that the manager and staff were approachable and helpful and where they had made requests or raised minor concerns, these matters had been responded to promptly and to their satisfaction.
Is the service well-led?
The manager whose name appears on this report no longer works at the home. Her name appears because it has not yet been removed from our register. The present manager, Bryan O'Connor, has applied to the CQC for registration.
We found that the manager was enthusiastic about providing a good quality of life for the people who lived there and had implemented changes which enhanced people's quality of life. These included increased activities for people.
We saw that the manager was well known to the people who lived there and the relatives to whom we spoke.
People who lived at the home and their relatives were very complimentary about the manager. Comments included, 'He cares for each resident' and 'Nothing is too much trouble for him.'
Care staff employed at the home told us that the manager was approachable.
We concluded that there was effective leadership at The Beeches, which ensured that safe, effective and responsive care and support was provided.