Background to this inspection
Updated
18 March 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by an inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
Thornton Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection.
The home had a registered manager in post. A registered manager 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
We gave a short period of notice regarding the inspection. This was because we needed to discuss the safety of people, staff and inspectors with reference to COVID-19.
Inspection activity started on 9 February and ended on 18 February 2021. We visited the home on 9 February 2021 as part of our site visit to the service. Further inspection activity was completed via telephone and by email, including speaking with people living at the home, relatives and reviewing additional evidence and information sent to us by the service.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who worked with the service, including Salford local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with four people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with seven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, area manager and four care staff.
We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and a selection of medication administration records (MAR). We also looked at two staff files to check staff were recruited safely. A variety of other records relating to the management of the service were also taken into account as part of the inspection.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found, including quality assurance documentation and staff training records.
Updated
18 March 2021
About the service
Thornton Lodge is a residential care home located in Salford, Greater Manchester and is operated by GGS Care Home Limited. The home provides residential care to older people. The service can support up to 34 people, with 31 living at the home at the time of our inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Since our last inspection of Thornton Lodge in October 2020, improvements had been made to governance systems to ensure legal requirements were being met.
People living at the home and their relatives told us the home was a safe place for people to live and staff demonstrated a good understanding about how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. There were enough staff to care for people safely, although some staff reported to us more were required first thing in the morning at busier times. Staff wore PPE when delivering care and the home was clean and tidy throughout. We provided some feedback to the registered manager to ensure social distancing measures were followed whilst maintenance work was ongoing.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff told us they received enough training and supervision to support them in their roles. People received enough to eat and drink, with appropriate referrals made to other health professionals as needed.
The home had a registered manager in post who had worked at the home for many years. The feedback we received about management and leadership was positive. The current staff team spoke of a positive culture at the home. There were also good links within the local community.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published December 2020) and there was a breach of the regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this at all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service in October 2020. A breach of legal requirements was found and a warning notice was issued to both the registered manager and provider regarding Good Governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the Safe, Effective and Well-led domains.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion (Caring and Responsive) were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Thornton Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.