Thornhill House

Updated 4 June 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One adult social care inspector and an Expert by Experience conducted the inspection on day one. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their expertise was in dementia care and older people who use regulated services. Day two of the inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Service and service type:

Thornhill House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

Day one of the inspection was unannounced. We announced the second day of our inspection.

What we did:

Before the inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications received by CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection. We requested and received feedback on the service from the local safeguarding teams and commissioners.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people who lived at the home and six relatives, to ask about their experience of the care provided. In addition, we spoke with four visiting healthcare professionals.

We spoke with eight members of staff, which included the deputy manager, four members of care staff, activities co-ordinator, cook and domestic staff. We spoke with the registered manager, registered provider, human resources director and head of operations during the inspection.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We also looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision, records relating to the management of the home and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Following our inspection, the provider and senior management team sent us additional evidence and information which we reviewed and used as part of our inspection judgement.

Updated 4 June 2019

About the service:

Thornhill House is a care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 39 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of inspection 38 people lived in the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

Our observations during this inspection confirmed staff were friendly, kind and compassionate. Staff ensured people were comfortable, safe and provided a homely environment, so people enjoyed living there.

We observed risks were well managed during our inspection and the registered manager could tell us how they minimised the risk of harm to people.

People were supported by staff who were motivated, enjoyed their job and felt well supported through regular supervision, feedback, appraisal and training.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff had been recruited safely to ensure they were appropriate to work with people at the home. We found the service was clean and tidy and people were protected from the risk of infection.

People and their relatives told us they were safe in the home; systems were in place to manage any allegations of abuse.

Staff were extremely kind and caring, treating people with respect and maintaining their dignity.

People received adequate nutrition and hydration which supported a healthy and balanced diet. People's likes and dislikes were accommodated within menu planning.

The registered manager ensured people were referred to healthcare professionals as required.

People were able to make choices and were involved in decisions about their care. Staff asked people for consent before providing care.

People had access to an extensive wide range of activities including access to the local community. Independence was promoted and staff actively ensured people maintained close links with their families.

The manager was visible working with the team, monitoring and supporting staff to ensure people received the care and support they needed.

People, relatives and staff praised the management of the home and spoke highly of the registered manager who they said was approachable and always available.

A complaints procedure was in place. People and relatives knew how to raise any concerns and had confidence in the complaints process.

Regular checks were undertaken to ensure the environment and equipment was safe.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated good (report published 29 July 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.