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Will my relative be happy at The Beeches?

The Beeches is committed to the principle that people with a learning disability have the same rights as everyone else regardless of their age and severity of their disability. They have an equal right to make choices about their life, to access education, work training and social opportunities and to be respected as a unique individual. The Beeches believes that the close involvement and support of relatives and carers is vital in ensuring that the learning disabled person can exercise these rights.

The Beeches places the person with a learning disability at the centre of its service. They are our main concern and their happiness, safety and security are our priorities. Our services continuously strive to meet the individual needs of our residents and we want to work as closely as possible with their family and carers to make sure this happens.

Safe and secure environment

Our long-term nursing and residential accommodation services are purpose built homes. They are designed to be as welcoming and as home-like as possible. Residents have their own lockable room which they can decorate as they chose. The homes are decorated and maintained to the highest standards and the grounds are landscaped and regularly maintained to ensure the dignity and privacy of our residents.

The Resource Centre operates from specially converted house and a number of large activity rooms on our Aghalee site. It is warm and welcoming and offers a wide range of interesting and engaging activities as well as work skills training to NVQ level.

The centre provides a range of vocational, educational, work and leisure opportunities and experiences and promotes advocacy and empowerment throughout the service.

Staff training and retention

The Beeches recognises that the direct care your relative receives will be the most important factor determining a happy and successful placement with the Beeches. The Beeches therefore invests a great deal of time and resources in the induction training and ongoing development of its new and existing employees.

We perform a POVA (Protection of Vulnerable Adults) check on all new employees. All employees receive full induction training before they commence employment including mandatory training in basic first aid, moving and handling, fire safety, vulnerable adult awareness and basic food hygiene. We also send employees on a wide range of additional training courses to develop their skills and knowledge. All our employees have been registered with the NISCC and we are also fully compliant with NISCC requirements regarding staff development and supervision.

Our senior management team has a wealth of experience and expertise gained across a range of professional roles working with people with a learning disability. Through our commitment to staff development and flexible employment practices we have employees who have been with us for 17 years. This provides our organisation with a depth of experience and knowledge of individual clients that cannot be matched and ensures a truly individualised service.

We maintain staff:client ratios well above recommended minimum levels across all of our services. We can ensure close supervision and proactive care and support is available for all our clients.

How can I get involved?

Once your relative has entered one of our services we would encourage regular family contact. We operate an open door policy in our nursing and residential homes for visits by family and friends. We hold formal annual or biannual care reviews. We also organise regular GP visits and clinical reviews with the consultant psychiatrist, clinical psychologist and other professionals involved in your relative’s care. You will be involved in all of these meetings.

More informally, we will maintain close contact with you and keep you informed as often as you require regarding how your relative is. Your views, thoughts and opinions are vital to ensure that we meet the needs of your relative to make sure they are happy, safe and in good health.

How can I find out more?

Please talk to your local health and social care trust department dealing with adult learning disability services. If there is some other information that you think we should provide on this site please let us know.