Thornhill Nursing Home

Updated 23 May 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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.

This was a comprehensive inspection. The inspection took place on 13 March 2018 and was unannounced. There was one adult social care inspector, a specialist professional nurse adviser 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 and their experience was in dementia care.

We gathered and reviewed information before the inspection such as the provider information return (PIR), notifications about the service and liaison with other agencies, such as the local authority and safeguarding team.We spoke with 12 people who used the service, four staff, the registered manager, the regional manager and two visitors. We looked at seven care plans, two staff files, training and supervision records and documentation to show how the service was run, such as maintenance records, policies, procedures and audits.

Updated 23 May 2018

Thornhill Nursing Home is a nursing home for 42 people, some of whom are living with dementia. There were 38 people who were living in the home when we inspected. At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Risks to individuals were managed well and people told us they felt safe. Staff had a good understanding of how to safeguard people from abuse or harm and accidents and incidents were documented well. There were safe procedures for managing medicines. Premises and equipment were being updated as part of a planned programme.

Staff were supported through effective training and supervision and there was good communication and teamwork. People were supported 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. People’s dietary needs were known by staff and there was plenty of choice in line with people’s preferences.

Staff demonstrated a kind and caring approach and there was evidence of respectful relationships fostered with the people who lived in the home. People were involved and informed about their care and support and their independence was encouraged.

Care documentation was clear on the whole and there was good evidence of people’s individual preferences, although it was not always clearly recorded when people, relatives or others had been involved in care planning. There was evidence of varied activities, although not all people were engaged on the day of the inspection.

There was very clear and detailed evidence of management oversight and quality assurance systems to enable care to be of a good standard. There was a very open, transparent culture of communication and the management team were very knowledgeable about the service.

Further information is in the detailed findings below