28 July 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe living at Bedford Care Home. Enough staff were deployed to meet people’s needs, albeit people commented on staff being very busy and not having much time to chat with them. Staff knew how to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. Accidents and incidents had been logged consistently on the provider’s electronic system, with analysis completed to look for patterns and trends to help prevent a reoccurrence. Medicines were being managed safely, by staff who had been trained and their competency assessed. The home was clean with effective infection control processes in place.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff received sufficient training and support to complete their roles. People’s healthcare needs were being met. Timely referrals to the necessary professionals had been made when any issues or concerns had been noted. People told us they had enough to eat and drink each day, although comments on the quality of the food provided varied. People’s food and fluid intake was documented, as was the provision of personal and oral care, however, this process required strengthening. Some consideration had been made to ensure the environment was suitable for people who lived at the home.
We have made a recommendation about the completion of research into personalisation and dementia friendly décor.
Care files provided information about people’s needs and how they wished to be cared for. The provider had switched to an electronic care planning system and was in the process of finalising the transfer of information from the previous paper based files. People provided mixed views about the social and recreational activities available within the home, which had been affected by the loss of two activity co-ordinators and the COVID-19 pandemic. A weekly schedule was in place, with each unit having one planned activity per day throughout the week. Recruitment for additional activity staff was ongoing, to enable the frequency of activities to increase across the home. People said they knew how to complain but had not needed to.
The home used a range of systems and processes to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service provided. Actions had been identified and added to the home’s improvement plan, which was regularly reviewed, both by the registered manager and at provider level. People and staff’s views were sought through regular meetings and questionnaires.
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 18 April 2020) and 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 regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 11 March 2020. 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 safe care and treatment and staff support.
We undertook this focused 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 Safe, Effective, Responsive 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.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bedford Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
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.