The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has put Thornton Manor Nursing Home, based in Thornton-Le-Moors near Chester into special measures to protect people using the service, after rating them as Inadequate following an inspection in July this year.
Thornton Manor Nursing Home is set in private grounds, is based over two floors and is registered to provide nursing and personal care for up to 47 people. At the time of our inspection there were 44 people living at the service.
We ask five questions, are services; safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Overall, Thornton Manor Nursing Home has been rated as Inadequate.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said:
“People are entitled to services which provide safe, effective, compassionate and high quality care. We found that the care provided by Thornton Manor Nursing Home fell a long way short of what we expect services to provide, which is why we have intervened to keep people using this service safe.
“At our last inspection we issued Thornton Manor Nursing Home with a warning notice for their poor care records and quality assurance audits. We also told them they must improve in areas including cleanliness, and ensuring that people using this service were always treated with dignity. However at this inspection we found improvements had not been sustained and they were still not meeting legal requirements. This is not good enough.
“The service was not clean, and several areas at the home were dirty including bathrooms. Equipment and fixtures were rusty, and in need of replacement, repair or deep cleaning. We saw that carpets and flooring had an unpleasant smell, and needed replacing.
“It was also very concerning that checks were not made on vital equipment such as pressure relieving mattresses. Sixteen people used pressure relieving mattresses, but we found the settings for seven of them were incorrect and one that had been unplugged from the power but hadn’t been noticed by staff.
“If insufficient improvements have been made such that there remains a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.”
The full report from the inspection can be found on this website.
Inspectors found that this service was not clean with several areas including bathrooms being particularly dirty. Equipment, fixtures, fittings and flooring throughout was dirty or in need of repair, replacement or deep cleaning. Inspectors also saw coats worn to access the kitchen for infection control reasons were dirty and stained. The infection control at Thornton Manor Nursing Home was poor.
Risks to people's health and safety were not always identified. Where people had experienced significant weight loss or refused treatment for the management of diabetes staff had failed to access support and advice from relevant health professionals to minimise any further risks. Care plans failed to identify the specific equipment people required to support them with their mobility.
The service is advertised as a dementia specialist service. Inspectors found that the environment was not dementia friendly and no adaptions had been made to aid and support people who are living with dementia.
Records were not personalised and did not reflect people's individual preferences about how they would like their care and support to be provided.
Ends
For further information, please contact Kerri James, CQC Regional Engagement Communications Officer by email kerri.james@cqc.org.uk or by phone on 07464 92 9966.
Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here.
Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters. For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.