Beech Trees

Updated 23 February 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

Two inspectors visited the home. An Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people’s relatives to hear their feedback. 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

Beech Trees is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including notifications of significant incidents. We asked the local authority for feedback about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service, the registered manager, a service manager and three care staff. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We checked three people’s care records, including their risk assessments and support plans, and the arrangements for managing medicines. We spoke with six people’s relatives to hear their views about the care provided to their family members.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 23 February 2022

About the service

Beech Trees is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with learning disabilities. There were seven people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

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

The provider had not ensured the premises were safe. Assessments had identified actions that needed to be completed in relation to fire and electrical safety. The provider was not able to demonstrate that these actions had been completed. We notified relevant professionals about these concerns.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. The principles of Right support, right care, right culture are as follows:

Right support:

People’s ability to make choices about the activities they took part in and how they spent their time were restricted because the service did not have enough staff to provide their commissioned one-to-one support hours.

However, there were enough staff on each shift to keep people safe. Agency staff were used regularly due to vacancies on the staff team, but the provider had minimised the impact of this by using regular agency staff where possible. The provider’s recruitment procedures helped ensure only suitable staff were employed.

Accidents and incidents were reviewed, and learning was shared among the staff team. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff maintained appropriate standards of infection prevention and control (IPC).

Right care:

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. People told us they got on well with the staff who supported them and enjoyed their company.

The care people received promoted their dignity, privacy and human rights. Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care.

Right culture:

The values, attitudes and behaviours of managers and care staff ensured people led confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

People and their families were involved in planning their care. 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.

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 the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 7 May 2020.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of the service’s registration under the new provider.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.