Thornage Hall Independent Living

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

This was an aged, rated inspection for Thornage Hall. At our last inspection we rated this key question good. At this inspection, the rating for this key question has remained good.

This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy,and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

Culturally the service was strong with a clear ethos and robust policies and quality assurance systems which included external reviews of the culture of the service.The service was able to demonstrate how they met the principles of Right support, right care, right culture by being inclusive and human rights focussed. A staff member told us,“I am treated well and feel respected by my colleagues and the manager. We are supported to work together and help each other. ”Staff said they could voice their ideas and concerns and were listened too.A message board and handover sheets helped important messages be communicated.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience, and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness, and honesty.

Leadership was strong, with the registered manager having a wealth of experience and calm disposition. They trusted and empowered their support staff and gave leaders the skills and opportunities to manage. Administration support and a management presence helped ensure shifts ran smoothly with clear expectations of staff and daily check lists, handovers, and observations of daily practices.

The work force was valued and rewarded both verbally but also through recognising their skills and offering opportunity for progression. People using the service were valued for their contribution and achievements and the service promoted a ‘celebration of festivals and awareness days like: autism awareness, mental health, oral health etc.

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard. Staff told us that they felt well treated, and that they were confident that where they raised concerns, these would be dealt with by the provider.

Staff were clear they could speak up and recognised safeguarding and whistle-blowing as part of the overarching human rights of people they were supporting. The cultural review conducted in 2023 by external specialists gained robust feedback from people using the service, staff,and relatives and came up with clear recommendations for the board of trustees to implement. This helped ensure people’s experiences were known and the service did not lose sight of ensuring people were the focus of everything they did to ensure people were having the best experience.

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. They worked towards an inclusive and fair culture by improving equality and equity for people who worked for them.

The registered manager explained the recruitment process and how they ensured they secured the right candidate by using observational skills as part of the interview and observing new candidates’ interactions with people using the service and gaining their feedback.The interview process was robust, and 2 sets of interview notes were kept. Roles and expectations were clearly clarified,and all team leaders were working towards additional qualifications in care whilst supporting shift leads to progress. There was a clear induction framework, and training was sitting close to 100 percent with clear legitimate reasons for any training not completed.

There was a transparent, open culture where staff felt able to discuss matters openly and there were lots of different forums to do so.

Every year the service reviewed staff pay and conditions and awarded staff the national living wage and other benefits including occupational benefits and informal rewards.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability,and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment, and support.

Whilst we were presented with strong evidence, we did identify some areas for improvements in relation to medicines and daily oversight and potential risks from the environment.

The environment was unique and the maintenance team had ensured health and safety regulations were being met without making people’s environment unnecessarily restrictive.

The service had a clear sustainability plan and business plan clearly laying out its ambitions for the future and considering how they could adapt for new generations of admissions and providing accommodation which would support their ageing population. Whilst they faced considerable challenges this was faced head on and led by a strong, knowledgeable, registered manager. There was a clear management team including a deputy manager, team leads and shift leads and a dedicated team of staff who were passionate about their role and their impact on people’s lives.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

The service had adapted and considered the changing needs of people using the service. There had been a lot of changes in management, trustees, and the operating model necessary for the survival of the site. Whilst improvements had been necessary over the years, we felt these had been embraced and people had control over their own lives as staff were always supporting and striving for new opportunities for people. The challenge still to be faced is that of an older population who may require staff with a different skills set and less focus on occupation and skill acquisition but more about re-enablement and leisure.

The GP practice described the registered manager as proactive and responsive to changes within people’s needs and had the right knowledge and skills to ensure people’s health needs were met.

The provider focused on continuous learning, innovation, and improvement across the organisation and local system.

Staff impressed upon us how good their induction was and how this had improved and staff had access to a lot of training including skills for care and a lot of support throughout their probation.

Improvements to the environment were ongoing and the maintenance team responded to immediate risks. Some refurbishments had been completed, and we noted the houses were in good condition and offered spacious and individual style bedrooms.

Audits gave a clear overview of actions taken and improvements necessary to ensure the service remained compliant with regulations.

Reviews for people helped ensure clear objectives had been set and progress towards them recorded, where changes of needs had been identified there were clear actions set against them.