Birch Avenue

Birch Avenue is a purpose-built nursing home in Sheffield providing care for up to 40 older people living with dementia. The CQC rated the home Requires Improvement, a decline from its previous Good rating, having found breaches relating to safe care and treatment and to governance. Care plans lacked sufficient guidance on managing health risks, needs assessments were not always robust, and quality assurance systems failed to identify these shortfalls.

Inspectors did find that staff knew people well and were positive about their roles, and people and relatives were generally satisfied with care, feeling safe and well treated. Some relatives raised concerns about staffing levels and the use of unfamiliar bank staff. The home was already working with the local authority and responded constructively to the concerns raised.