What the CQC found at Birch Hall Care Centre

People and relatives said they felt safe. Inspectors saw staff treating people with care, kindness and reassurance.

“We observed people being treated with care and kindness and conversations were friendly and appropriate.” from the report

Staff understood how to raise safeguarding concerns and felt the management team would act quickly to keep people safe.

“The current management team and staff were clear about safeguarding and protection matters and knew when to report incidents and safeguarding concerns to other agencies.” from the report

The home carried out pre-employment checks to assess staff skills and character.

“The provider had safe recruitment systems and processes.” from the report

Staff supported people to maintain important relationships, and visitors said they felt welcome.

“Staff encouraged people to maintain relationships that were important to them. Visitors told us they felt welcomed.” from the report

The newer management team recognised the shortfalls and had started an improvement plan with commissioners.

“The current management team were aware of the shortfalls and where improvements were needed; they were taking appropriate action to improve.” from the report

Medicines procedures were not consistently followed. Inspectors found problems with storage, disposal, handwritten entries and records of medicines given.

“There were shortfalls in areas such as medicines disposal, handwritten entries, storage, as needed medicines and recording administered medicines.” from the report

Risk plans were not always up to date or clear. Accident and incident records were not always complete or analysed to prevent repeat events.

“Records were kept of accidents and incidents. These were not always fully completed or analysed to determine whether there were any trends or patterns, to prevent any reoccurrence and to ensure people's safety.” from the report

The provider's audits and quality systems did not identify or resolve important problems. Some incidents were not reported to CQC or local commissioners.

“The provider's quality assurance systems, audits and action plans were ineffective and there had been a lack of oversight by the provider.” from the report

Some care records did not reflect people's current needs, routines or preferences. This could mean people did not receive the care they needed or wanted.

“Care records had not always been reviewed or updated when people's needs changed.” from the report

Activities varied between units, depended on staff availability and were not always matched to people's interests. Some people said they were bored.

“Activities were not tailored to people's needs, choices and preferences. Activities were limited across the units and were dependent on the availability of staff.” from the report

People's views about staffing varied. Some people received prompt care, while others said they had to wait, and staff said more permanent staff were needed.

“Staff come when called but they are very busy. It can be a wait for a while.” from the report