We carried out a review of the data available to us about New Thursby Nursing Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about New Thursby Nursing Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
New Thursby Nursing Care Home is registered to provide care for 42 older people or younger adults. It is a large detached home set on the main coast road between Blackpool and St Annes on Sea. The home is set over two floors, on which bedrooms and bathing facilities are situated. There are thirty-two single rooms and four shared rooms. Seventeen rooms are equipped with en-suite facilities. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt they were cared for safely by the staff team. They were able to be as safe and as independent as possible because staff risk assessed and helped them manage avoidable risks. The registered manager had a thorough recruitment system and there were enough staff to meet people’s care and support needs. Staff supported people with their medicines according to national guidelines. The home was clean, with good infection control.
Staff were familiar with people’s dietary and nutritional needs and provided people with a choice of food and drinks. Staff supported people to see healthcare professionals promptly so their health and wellbeing needs were met. People were helped to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff assessed people's capacity to make decisions. The home was comfortable and pleasantly decorated and suitable for people’s needs. Staff had been trained, were supported and had the skills, knowledge and experience to provide good care.
People told us they liked living at New Thursby and were treated with patience, care and respect. Staff were respectful and provided care that met people’s diverse needs and preferences. They encouraged people to make choices and decisions and to be involved in planning their care.
The provider had a complaints policy. People knew how to complain and said any concerns were dealt with promptly and to their satisfaction. Staff had assessed, were familiar with, and reported on people’s specific communication needs. People were involved in varied activities in the home and in the local community. The staff team supported people needing end of life care and had the skills and knowledge to do so.
People said staff involved them in decisions about the home such as meals, routines, leisure and social events. The registered manager monitored the service to check on the quality and to make sure staff were providing good care. They understood and acted on legal obligations, including conditions of CQC registration and those of other organisations. They worked in partnership with other services and organisations and were involved in research to develop and follow good practice, keep people safe and improve their well-being.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
At the last inspection the service was rated good (published 16 September 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
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.
New Thursby Nursing home is a large detached home set on the main road between Blackpool and St Annes on Sea. The home is spacious and set over two floors, on which bedrooms and bathing facilities are situated. There are thirty-two single rooms and four shared rooms. Seventeen rooms are equipped with en-suite facilities. There is a choice of communal lounges and seating areas. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living at the home.
The service had a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection the service remained Good.
During this inspection, we received comments that demonstrated people were satisfied with their care. The management and staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. They were committed to providing good care and support to people who lived at the home.
Records we looked at indicated staff had received safeguarding from abuse training. Staff we spoke with told us they were aware of the safeguarding procedure and knew what to do should they witness any abusive actions at the rest home. One relative told us, “I go home at night and do not worry about my [relative’s] safety.”
The provider had recruitment and selection procedures to minimise the risk of inappropriate employees working with vulnerable people. Checks had been completed prior to any staff commencing work at the home. This was confirmed from discussions with staff.
We found staffing levels were suitable with an appropriate skill mix to meet the needs of people who lived at the home. The deployment of staff was structured to meet the needs of people who lived at the home.
Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had maintained their professional qualifications to ensure they were competent and had the skills required. Medicines were safely managed and appropriate arrangements for storing medicines were in place.
Staff received training related to their role and were knowledgeable about their responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
People who were able told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. We saw regular snacks and drinks were provided between meals to ensure people received adequate nutrition and hydration. One person told us, “I do enjoy the meals, and I am a very good eater.” A second person said about the meals, “There is always enough choice and plenty to eat.”
We found people had access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs were met. We saw the management team had responded promptly when people had experienced health problems.
Care plans were organised and had identified care and support people required. We found they were informative about care people had received. They had been kept under review and updated when necessary to reflect people’s changing needs.
People told us they were happy with the activities organised at New Thursby Nursing Home. The activities were arranged for individuals and for groups.
A complaints procedure was available and people we spoke with said they knew how to complain. People and staff spoken with felt the registered manager was accessible, supportive and approachable.
The registered manager had sought feedback from people who lived at the home and staff. They had consulted with people and their relatives for input on how they could continually improve. The registered provider had regularly completed a range of audits to maintain people’s safety and welfare.
New Thursby Nursing home is a large detached home set on the main road between Blackpool and St Annes on Sea. The home is spacious and set over two floors, on which bedrooms and bathing facilities are situated. There are thirty-two single rooms and four shared rooms. Seventeen rooms are equipped with en-suite facilities. There is a choice of communal lounges and seating areas. There are a range of aids and adaptations in place to meet the needs of people using the service.
At this inspection we found the service was consistently well led. The registered manager carried out checks of the quality and safety of people’s care. Results of the provider’s checks relating to people’s health status, such as accidents and incidents, were always formally analysed to check for any trends or patterns.
People felt safe in the home and they were happy living there. People and their relatives knew who to speak with if they had any concerns or worries about their care. Potential or known risks to people’s safety were identified before they received care and they were reflected in people’s written care plans, which staff followed and understood. Action was being taken to make sure that all people’s risk assessments and care plans were kept up to date and accurately maintained. This helped to mitigate any risks to people from receiving unsafe care.
Staffing arrangements were sufficient for people’s care needs to be met. The provider’s arrangements for staff recruitment were robust and helped to make sure that staff would be suitable to work with people receiving care. Emergency plans were in place for staff to follow, such as in the event of a fire alarm or loss of energy power supplies. Reports of recent visits from the local fire and environmental health authorities, found satisfactory arrangements for fire safety and food hygiene and handling at the home.
The registered manager explained that the home was involved in a new scheme to undertake speech and language (SALT) assessments using new technology such as Skype (internet based communication software). SALT assessments are used to assess and treat speech, language and communication problems in people of all ages, to help them eat and communicate. People who needed to have a SALT assessment were supported to use a computer connected to Skype so that they could have a private consultation with a speech and language therapist based at the local hospital. This was seen to be very innovative and useful in that people were able to access an assessment a lot quicker, and receive professional advice and support.
People’s health care needs were met in consultation with relevant health professionals when required. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet in a way that met with their assessed needs and choices. Staff supported people safely and effectively and they promoted people’s choice and control of their care. For example, with their mobility, meals and nutrition. People’s medicines were safely managed and arrangements were in place to enable people to retain and administer their own medicines, should they choose to do so.
Staff received the training and support they needed. Staff understood and followed the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to obtain people’s consent or appropriate authorisation for their care when required.
People were happy with their care and felt that staff treated them with respect and kindness and that they maintained their dignity, privacy, choice and independence. People and their relatives were appreciative of, and appropriately involved and informed in the care provided, which met with people’s needs and wishes. Staff knew people well and had good relationships with them and with relatives or representatives. Staff supported people to maintain their known daily living preferences and personal routines and their interests and beliefs, which were shown in their written care plans.
People received prompt assistance from staff when they needed it. People were informed how to raise any concerns or complaints and their views about the service and those of their relatives were regularly sought. Findings from these were often used to improve people’s experience of their care and daily living arrangements.
People, their relatives and staff found the registered manager accessible and approachable and were positive about some of the changes being made to improve people’s experiences of their care and the upgrading to one of the main lounges.
Arrangements were in place for the management and day to day running of the home. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and the provider’s aims and values for people’s care, which they promoted. Staff were all confident to raise any concerns they may have about people’s care. The provider’s policies and procedures supported and informed them to do so when required.
The home was found to be a Gold Standards Framework (GSF) accredited service. GSF is a systematic, evidence based approach to optimising care for all people nearing the end of life. The home had a dedicated end of life suite where people and their families could be cared for at the end of life. There were end of life care drugs in place for those people approaching the end of life to ensure people could be cared for, avoiding inappropriate emergency admission to hospital.
We previously inspected this service on 25 October 2013. The service was found to be compliant with the regulations we inspected at the time of the visit.
People spoke positively of the care they received and described staff as, 'Very kind and caring'. One relative told us, 'Staff are very helpful. They are always around when we visit. Nothing is too much trouble'. One person living at the home said, 'I really do like it here, I can do my own thing it really has given me a good life'.
Another person said that staff listened to what they were saying and acted on what they requested. We were also told that staff had supported them in attending hospital appointments. One comment included, 'When I had my diagnosis the staff were very good and supported me through the operation and when I came back here. It was a bad time for me but they were there for me'.
Staff we spoke with told us they felt supported and told us the recruitment system made sure all the necessary checks had taken place before they began working in the home.
Residents spoken with told us they could express their views and were involved in decision making about their care. They told us they felt listened to when discussing their care needs. Staff confirmed to us they also involved relatives where possible to ensure people received the right care and support. One relative told us, 'As a family we are kept informed about everything, the staff are very good.'
During the inspection we spent time in communal areas in order to observe how staff and residents communicated. We saw staff speaking with people respectfully. We saw they spent time with people on an individual basis, were patient and took time to listen to residents. One staff member told us, "I have been here for a long time and respect all the residents. They are all different and we respect that.'
People living at the home told us staff were respectful and treated them with dignity, one resident said, "They are all so patient", another said, "They are busy but they are kind and always have time for us". All people we spoke to said good things about the way they were treated by all members of staff.
When asked, one person we spoke with said, "I feel safe and comfortable living here". A relative told us that she felt her father was, "Getting everything they need living at the New Thursby'.