Staff at Inadequate Beeches Care Home ignored elderly person

The Beeches Care Home, in Beacon Road, Wibsey, received the lowest possible rating in its latest CQC inspection.

Three inspectors visited the setting on April 4 and April 6 this year and from their observations and discussions with service users, a relative and staff – including managers – dropped The Beeches from its previous rating of Requires Improvement.

The care home provides personal and nursing care to older people and those living with dementia and was run by the Silverline Group at the time of the inspection.

The Beeches Care Home, in Beacon Road, Wibsey (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Melrose Holdings Limited took over earlier this month and put in place Minster Care Group to operate The Beeches.

It had 37 people living at the setting, over two floors, at the start of April.

The report said: “People were not consistently treated with compassion and kindness.

“We observed multiple missed examples where staff had opportunities to communicate, reassure and socialise with people and they did not.”

People would call out for reassurance and support without it being offered and one person was seen “shouting out for help” but this was ignored by staff.

They only went to the individual’s aid when an inspector talked to staff, according to the report.

This lack of attention was also witnessed in other areas.

Inspectors found those in their bedrooms were not being offered the same care and support as people in the communal areas.

One person told them: "You have to wait when you buzz, up to 30 minutes.

“Sometimes there isn't anybody around and sometimes I wee myself and worse. It's terrible."

Medicine cupboards and a trolley – both in one of the treatment rooms – were not locked and two service users received doses of medication containing paracetamol before the four-hour interval was up.

The Beeches Care Home, in Beacon Road, Wibsey (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Staffing was an issue at the care home too with not enough workers on each unit to meet people’s needs and keep them safe and some areas were not well-led due to a lack of skilled and competent staff being deployed there.

One user told inspectors: “We could do with more staff to keep the order, staff come and go".

But another said: "I think there is enough staff to look after us”.

The inspectors found systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuse were in place and were assured the provider was preventing and controlling infection.

The Beeches was not inspected for how effective and responsive the care home was and so these categories retained the old rating of Good.

The “safe”, “caring” and “well-led” categories were rated Inadequate.

A spokesperson for Minster Care Group said: “Having taken over the management of this home after the CQC’s inspection in April, we are already working hard to make the improvements residents deserve.

“Our team has decades of combined experience in turning around struggling care homes to safeguard the best interests of residents and staff, and we are confident the new management team and systems they have already put in place will quickly deliver noticeable improvements.

“The safety, wellbeing and quality of life of all residents is our absolute priority.

“We intend to improve all areas of the service, including those that the CQC has rated as ‘Good’, but our immediate priority is to make changes and enhancements in the areas the CQC found were not previously performing at an acceptable standard – being safe, caring and well-led.

“We are acting on the CQC’s recommendations and look forward to welcoming inspectors back to view the home’s improved performance.”