CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, November 2022
The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found people were safe and the home was well managed, with some improvements needed in face mask use and formal feedback.
This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 26 September 2022. One inspector and an Expert by Experience spoke with people, relatives and staff, and reviewed safety and quality records.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, suitable safeguarding procedures, safe medicines management and systems for learning from incidents. The home was clean and infection control was generally followed.
A small number of staff were not wearing face masks correctly, but this was corrected straightaway. Inspectors also said formal consultation with relatives and staff did not happen often enough and recommended that feedback was gathered more regularly.
The overall Good rating partly used ratings from the previous inspection because this visit only examined Safe and Well-led. The previous overall rating was also Good.
Staffing and recruitment
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. New staff were recruited safely, and staffing levels were adjusted when people's needs changed.
“There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people's needs.” from the report
Medicines
Medicines were generally given on time. Staff had relevant training and competency checks before administering medicines.
“Staff completed relevant training and had their competency assessed before giving people their medicines.” from the report
Safeguarding and risk
Safeguarding concerns were referred to the local authority and investigated. Risks were assessed and steps were put in place to reduce them.
“Safeguarding concerns had been referred to the local authority to be investigated.” from the report
Quality checks
Senior staff carried out regular checks on areas such as medicines, health and safety, and care planning. The findings were used to identify improvements.
“The provider had a structured approach to quality assurance.” from the report
Face mask use
minorA small number of staff did not wear face masks correctly. The registered manager dealt with this straightaway.
“A small number of staff did not wear a facemask correctly.” from the report
Formal feedback
needs fixingThe home had not recently carried out formal consultation with relatives and staff. Inspectors recommended gathering feedback regularly and using it to improve the service.
“There had also been no recent formal consultation with relatives and staff.” from the report
- 01How often do you now formally consult relatives and staff, and what changes have you made as a result?
- 02How do you check that all staff wear face masks correctly when required?
- 03How do you monitor staffing levels when people's needs change?
- 04How are safeguarding concerns investigated and acted on?
- 05What checks are made to ensure medicines are given on time and safely?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings used in the overall rating were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 26 November 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, January 2021
The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home was rated Good after inspectors found safer, effective and better-led care, although some fire safety work was still outstanding.
Inspectors visited on 18, 25 and 27 November 2020. They observed care, spoke with four relatives and seven staff, and reviewed care, medicine, recruitment and management records.
They found people were kept safe, medicines were managed safely and there were enough staff. The home had infection control measures, including visitor health checks, PPE and a clean environment. People received food suited to their needs and staff worked with health professionals.
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led. All three areas were rated Good. Caring and Responsive were not inspected at this visit, so their earlier ratings were used in the overall rating. The overall rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good.
Safer care
Risk assessments covered people's individual risks and included ways to prevent accidents and incidents. Staff were trained in safeguarding and there were enough staff on duty.
“There were comprehensive assessments of risks in place.” from the report
Medicines managed safely
Staff who administered medicines had been assessed as competent. Extra checks had also been introduced to monitor medicine stocks.
“People's medicines were managed in a safe manner.” from the report
Good infection controls
The home had visitor health checks, PPE and staff who understood how to use it. Inspectors found the home clean and without odours.
“The home was clean and tidy with no odours.” from the report
Improved leadership
The manager had introduced quality checks, clarified staff responsibilities and worked with the local authority on an improvement plan.
“There was a strong culture of continuous learning and improving care delivery.” from the report
Food and health support
Staff understood people's dietary needs and worked with other health professionals. A snack station was available to encourage food and fluid intake.
“People's dietary needs were understood by staff who ensured their intake of food and fluids was sufficient to meet their needs.” from the report
Fire safety work remained
needs fixingThe fire service had identified work that had not yet been completed. The provider gave reassurances that action was being taken, but families may want to check the current position.
“The fire service had carried out a further visit to the home and identified some work yet to be completed.” from the report
- 01Has all the work identified by the fire service now been completed?
- 02How often are people's risk assessments reviewed and updated?
- 03What extra checks are used to monitor medicine stocks and administration?
- 04How will you monitor the quality of care for people whose needs change?
- 05What were the previous ratings for Caring and Responsive, which were not assessed during this inspection?
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led only; the ratings for Caring and Responsive carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 January 2021 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home
8 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2022Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home →
- January 2021Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home →
- June 2019Requires improvementup from InadequateSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2019
Location report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2019Inadequatedown from Requires improvementSafe: InadequateEffective: InadequateCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: InadequateWell-led: Inadequate
- May 2018Requires improvementup from InadequateSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2018InadequateSafe: InadequateEffective: InadequateCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
- July 2016Inspected but not ratedResponsive: Inspected but not rated
- November 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- November 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 24 January 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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47 live-in carers within about an hour of County Durham
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £960 to £1,210 a week. 42 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.