Beaumont Court

Updated 16 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place 19 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service one days’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 16 March 2022

We carried out an unannounced inspection of Beaumont Court on 22 October 2018. Beaumont Court is a care home which provides care and support for up to 40 predominantly older people. People living at Beaumont Court had physical health needs and mental frailty due to a diagnosis of dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 38 people living at the service.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The services registration and regulated activities had changed since the previous comprehensive inspection in July 2016. The service was no longer registered to provide the regulated activity nursing care.

Beaumont Court is an extended historic building in its own extensive grounds close to the town of Launceston. The service is divided into three separate households. The main house is on two floors with the upper floor accessed by a stair lift. The other two households are single storey with patio doors leading onto the landscaped gardens. All rooms had en-suite facilities and there were shared bathrooms, shower facilities and toilets. Each household had its own lounge and dining areas. Hawthorne Avenue was waiting for the construction of a conservatory to extend and improve the living area of this facility.

The service is required to have a registered manager and at the time of our inspection a registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service had registered onto the Butterfly Project. A model of care specifically designed to promote quality of life outcomes for people living with dementia by educating staff in delivering person centred and relationship focused dementia care. The butterfly system aims to improve people’s safety and wellbeing by teaching staff to offer a positive and appropriate response to people with memory impairment. A staff member said, “It’s all very new but I am loving the changes and the difference its making for residents and staff.” It was anticipated the service would receive accreditation for this project by the end of the year. A family member told us the type of care their relative received meant, “[Relative name] is safe and content here. I feel I have got my dad back.”

Risks to people were assessed and actions were identified and implemented to keep people safe. Staff understood people's psychological and emotional needs and appropriate support was provided to meet them. People had regular access to healthcare professionals and staff worked collaboratively with them.

People's medicines were managed and administered in line with best practice and staff had received medicines training and their competency had been assessed.

Where people had capacity they and their relatives told us they were happy with the care they received and believed it was a safe environment.

The design of the service meant people living with dementia conditions lived in the various households depending on the level and effect of dementia they were experiencing. For example, Cherry Tree Lane was designed for people with lower physical and mental dependency levels, Hawthorn Avenue was designed and staffed to accommodate and support people going through mid-stage dementia. Willow Walk supported people with a higher level of needs for their physical and mental health.

In general, the atmosphere was generally calm and relaxed. People were not restricted in respect of their movement around their area of the home were living in. People were observed to be spending their time in communal areas, their own rooms or in the garden with support from staff. People had good and meaningful relationships with staff and staff interacted with people in a caring and respectful manner.

The service used an electronic care planning system with essential information in paper format, used in case of emergency. Care plans contained information about the person and what their individual needs were and how they would be met. Care planning was reviewed regularly and people’s changing needs were recorded. Daily notes were completed by staff responsible for people’s care.

Management and staff had a good understanding of the underlying principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Staff completed a thorough recruitment process to ensure they had the necessary skills for their role. Formal systems for supporting care staff were in place.

Staff understood their roles in safeguarding people from abuse and records showed staff responded appropriately to incidents. The registered manager monitored accidents and incidents. These were reflected upon and where necessary lessons were learnt to mitigate those risks. There were a variety of checks and audits undertaken at the service to identify and respond to any issues.

People were regularly asked for their feedback and regular meetings took place to involve people in the running of the home. There was a complaints policy in place and records showed complaints were responded to in line with this policy.

Staff supported people to eat food that matched their preferences and met their dietary needs. Relatives told us they were made to feel welcome and staff knew what was important to people.

The environment supported people living with dementia. For example, signage throughout the service showed pictorial images to indicate the rooms function. Some people had ‘This is me’ information to support staff to get to know the person, their likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests. In addition, there were ‘This is me’ information and photos of staff members working at the service. This helped people and family members to get to know staff who supported them or their relative. Throughout the communal and dining areas there were ‘tactile’ items which people could pick up, feel and talk about. This was based upon good practice in dementia care. We observed people touching items and discussing them with staff. It was clearly successful through the observations made throughout the inspection.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.