What the CQC found at Beech Lodge

People told inspectors staff were caring and friendly. Staff offered reassurance when people became anxious or distressed and stayed with them until they were calm.

“People were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.” from the report

Inspectors found the premises clean and without unpleasant smells. Staff had access to gloves, aprons and hand gel to reduce infection risks.

“The premises were clean and odour free. A team of domestic staff were employed.” from the report

Care plans were regularly reviewed, and daily notes and monitoring records gave staff information about the care provided and changes in people's needs.

“Care plans were comprehensive and regularly reviewed. Daily notes provided a record of the care people had received.” from the report

Some medicines were unavailable when needed, records were incomplete and one person received more than the prescribed dose on some occasions. The report says this placed people at risk.

“Medicines were not always available for administration which placed risks to people's health.” from the report

The home was short staffed at times and regularly used agency staff. Some staff had not received adequate training needed to support people safely.

“The week preceding the inspection there had been five shifts when staff numbers were lower than planned.” from the report

Some people were under continuous supervision and control, but the required applications had not been made. There was also no evidence of best-interest decisions for some people who lacked capacity.

“No DoLS applications had been made on their behalf as required by the legislation.” from the report

People were often unoccupied and depended on television for entertainment. Activities shown on the noticeboard did not take place.

“For most of the inspection people were unoccupied. There was one brief period when staff played music and encouraged people to sing and wave decorative pom poms about.” from the report

The home's own audits and senior management reviews did not identify the problems found by inspectors. This meant leaders did not have reliable oversight of care quality and safety.

“Ineffective quality assurance systems meant people were not always receiving good quality of care and were sometimes placed at risk.” from the report

Staff did not have enough guidance on how to support people whose anxiety could put themselves or others at risk. This was especially important because agency staff might not know people's needs.

“Guidance for staff on how to support people at these times was brief and uninformative.” from the report