Archived: Beechlawn Residential Home

Updated 16 July 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Beechlawn Residential Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and the last inspection report. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with one visiting social care professional. We spoke with seven members of staff including the acting manager, who was the registered manager of another of the provider’s services, the assistant manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We observed the care and support provided to people throughout the inspection, we also observed a handover and staff meeting.

After the inspection

The acting manager and deputy manager sent us their updated training records, within the agreed timescales. This was because the records reviewed at the inspection did not provide the information required.

Updated 16 July 2019

About the service

Beechlawn Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 35 older people, in one adapted building; some people were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection visit on 14 June 2019, there were 23 people using the service, with one person moving in on the day.

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

There had been changes in the management of the service, since our last inspection. This had caused some instability in the service and improvements identified at our last inspection had not been sustained and embedded in the culture to improve the service’s rating to at least good.

Improvements had not been made in a timely way to improve the service provided to people. The current management team were working to improve the service and were introducing systems to make these improvements.

We were not always receiving notifications from the service, this is important information about certain incidents which we should be informed of.

Improvements were needed in the training provided to staff to ensure they were skilled and knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities and to provide good quality care to people.

Improvements were needed in how the staff recorded where people received their prescribed medicines that were to be administered externally, such as creams. Other medicines, such as patches and tablets, were administered as prescribed and safely.

People’s care records were being improved, which was ongoing and not yet complete. There were some inconsistencies in the records which did not provide robust guidance to staff about how to meet people’s needs. Not all people’s records included guidance for staff about people’s preferences for their end of life care.

Improvements were needed in how people were provided with stimulation and engagement which were meaningful and reduced the risk of boredom.

Some improvements had been made in the environment to be more accessible for people living with dementia, this was ongoing and not yet complete.

There were systems to keep people safe. However, not all staff had received training in safeguarding.

Despite the shortfalls we identified in the service, we received positive feedback from people using the service and relatives about the caring nature of the staff and the care and support received.

People’s dietary needs were assessed and met. Referrals to health professionals were made, as required.

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.

Improvements had been made in the staffing levels in the service. Staff were recruited safely.

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 requires improvement from our previous inspection of 13 March 2018 (published 14 June 2018). There were no breaches of Regulation.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.