Care home rated inadequate by CQC for a second time - despite new owners taking over

The Beeches was placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in April. The home’s new owners, The Waash Group, pledged to raise standards at the venue.

But in a new report, the CQC said rules were still being breached and has rated the home, which was caring for 17 elderly people at the time, inadequate again.

That’s despite them highlighting several areas of progress, and acknowledging positive feedback from staff and patients’ families.

The watchdog also praised the home’s new manager for being “open and transparent”.

Inspectors who visited The Beeches on May 11, wrote in their report: “We found no evidence that people had been harmed however, systems were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate risks to health and safety were managed safely. This placed people at risk of harm.”

The report also said that were “omissions and inacurracies” in the way medicines were managed.

However, the CQC acknowledged testimony from staff and residents, that was full of praise for the way the home was run.

The report said: “People felt safe, comments included, “The staff are brilliant here, they are great, and they make me feel safe.”

“One family member told us, “My [relative] is safe, the care is good.” Another relative told us, “The care is excellent the staff are great with my [relative] I feel assured.”

Inspectors added: “Staff told us they felt supported. Incentives such as carer of the month were available to motivate staff and recognise their contribution.

“One staff member told us, “I can see things are looking up, we are getting support, we are getting new paperwork, it’s exciting and really good.”

The report also said that the provider “told us they had worked hard to address the concerns raised at the last inspection and was committed to ensuring the improvements were sustained.”

The Waash Group has been contacted for comment, but is yet to respond.

In April, the company said that many of the issues raised by the CQC at the first inspection in February had stemmed from the previous management of the service.