Beaufort House

Updated 9 October 2020

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Beaufort House 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. The registered manager was currently absent from the service and the appropriate notification has been submitted to CQC. There was an interim manager in post at the time of the inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave 48 hours notice of the inspection to ensure we could manage the risks related to Covid-19.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager and deputy manager. We looked at a range people’s care and support records, staff files and medicine administration records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service such as incident and accident records, meeting minutes, recruitment information, policies, audits and health and safety records.

After the inspection

We received clarification from the service to validate evidence found and requested further information which we have used to support our judgements in the report. We also contacted one person’s relative and five members of staff to seek their views. We received a response from four members of staff and have used their evidence to support our judgements.

Updated 9 October 2020

About the service

Beaufort House is a residential care home. It provides accommodation and personal care for up to 37 older people. At the time of the inspection there were 21 people living at the service.

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

During this inspection we did not speak directly with people at the service due to the increased risks associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. People appeared relaxed and had a good rapport with staff. Staff demonstrated a good awareness of the safeguarding processes and told us they would feel comfortable raising concerns with the interim manager.

People’s medicines were administered and managed safely. We found arrangements for the ordering, storage, administration and recording were effective. Assessments were in place to identify and reduce risks to people. Staffing levels were safe and robust recruitment systems were in place. The service was clean and infection control management was in place.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service was well-led. Governance systems within the service were effective and monitored the risk to the health, safety and welfare of people. We received positive feedback about how the service was managed from relatives and staff. There was a positive staff team and culture. There were effective systems to seek and act on feedback from people, their relatives, staff and visiting professionals. Legal requirements around notifications and displaying performance ratings were met.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 15 August 2019), there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of either regulation.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 20 and 24 June 2019. Two breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve in regard to Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment) and Regulation 17 (Good Governance).

We undertook this focussed inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Beaufort House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.