Benton House

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

People who lived in Benton House were safe. There were appropriate systems in place to ensure that people were safeguarded from harm or abuse. People’s care plans were detailed and comprehensive. Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly by staff. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s assessed needs. Staff were recruited safely and accessed a range of training and development opportunities to enable them to deliver care and support people safely.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Learning culture during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Safe systems, pathways and transitions during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We spoke to 9 people who lived at Benton House and 4 family members who were visiting relatives on the day of inspection. People engaged very positively which gave an insight to their happiness and satisfaction with their care. Family members were knowledgeable about the needs of their loved ones and spoke freely about the service they received. People we spoke with indicated they felt safe and were well cared for. People appeared to be relaxed and comfortable with all staff members. It was evident that staff were knowledgeable about each person and treated them as individuals. One person was tearful and said they felt depressed. A member of staff passing by noticed this and knelt quietly beside them. The person then rested their head on the shoulder of the staff member and became settled immediately. The staff member knew what was upsetting the person and gently engaged them in a reassuring conversation. Relatives told us they had been made to feel very welcome when they visited to look around. As the days went by the family were feeling very positive about their loved one living at Benton House.

Safeguarding incidents were reviewed and analysed to identify learning and improvement e.g. the use of a safe falls beam system and the identification of the need for training with the Alzheimer’s Society to be delivered to both the staff, relatives and other visiting professionals. Safeguarding and whistleblowing policies were in place and accessible to staff with physical copies available in a file and electronic copies online.

Staff were caring and supportive to people. There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs. There were no instances of unsafe practice observed throughout the inspection. People who lived in Benton House appeared calm and relaxed and staff supported them safely to avoid escalation of any behaviours that may have caused distress.

Staff knew how to keep people safe from the risk of harm and abuse. They knew where the Safeguarding policies were kept and how to report any safeguarding concerns. Staff had attended appropriate safeguarding training courses. Staff confirmed that they used the care planning and risk assessment processes to keep people safe and to support positive behavioural outcomes.

We spoke to 9 people who lived at Benton House and 4 family members who were visiting relatives on the day of inspection. People engaged very positively which gave an insight to their happiness and satisfaction with their care. Family members were knowledgeable about the needs of their loved ones and spoke freely about the service they received. People we spoke with indicated they felt safe and were well cared for. People appeared to be relaxed and comfortable with all staff members. It was evident that staff were knowledgeable about each person and treated them as individuals. One person was tearful and said they felt depressed. A member of staff passing by noticed this and knelt quietly beside them. The person then rested their head on the shoulder of the staff member and became settled immediately. The staff member knew what was upsetting the person and gently engaged them in a reassuring conversation. Relatives told us they had been made to feel very welcome when they visited to look around. As the days went by the family were feeling very positive about their loved one living at Benton House.

Staff confirmed they carried out risk assessments about people and their care needs. They worked with people to encourage them to recall information about their likes and dislike and to keep them socially active.

Care plans were detailed and comprehensive. From the care plans we could see that families were involved in care the planning process and monthly evaluations to ensure that all care is in line with people's previously held beliefs and values. Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly by staff who knew the person.

We reviewed 3 people’s care plans and we were satisfied they contained appropriate information to assess people’s risks and detail care and support to meet their assessed needs. We discussed with the registered manager about how clarity about what information needed to be recorded of daily notes for people.

We did not look at Safe environments during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

Staff told us that they accessed a range of training and development courses and received supervision and support. We saw this through the staff training matrix and staff told us that they accessed training and received supervision and support.

People were able to access outside spaces safely. We saw staff encourage people to drink and eat by offering appropriate assistance. Although there were no ’formal’ activities taking place, staff were seen to be spending time talking and laughing with people and people seemed to be occupied. We asked people if they thought the staff were good. One person replied with a very big smile and genuine enthusiasm, ”Amazing. Absolutely excellent.” Our observations throughout the visit supported this as we saw people's interactions with staff. When we asked people about the food, they said,” Out of this world. I love it, I love it, I love it”.

People's needs were assessed and recorded in a dependency/risk stratification tool so that the appropriate number of staff needed to support people was provided. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people's needs as identified in the dependency calculations. Staff were recruited through a safe process.

We spoke to 9 people who lived at Benton House and 4 family members who were visiting relatives on the day of inspection. People engaged very positively which gave an insight to their happiness and satisfaction with their care. Family members were knowledgeable about the needs of their loved ones and spoke freely about the service they received. People we spoke with indicated they felt safe and were well cared for. People appeared to be relaxed and comfortable with all staff members. It was evident that staff were knowledgeable about each person and treated them as individuals. One person was tearful and said they felt depressed. A member of staff passing by noticed this and knelt quietly beside them. The person then rested their head on the shoulder of the staff member and became settled immediately. The staff member knew what was upsetting the person and gently engaged them in a reassuring conversation. Relatives told us they had been made to feel very welcome when they visited to look around. As the days went by the family were feeling very positive about their loved one living at Benton House. Relatives told us that staff were very attentive and never walked past people's room without checking on their loved one. "Even when we are here, they still pop their heads around the door to make sure things are ok.” This was also observed when visitors were not present.

We did not look at Infection prevention and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.

We did not look at Medicines optimisation during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Safe.