Thornham Grove Care Home

Updated 26 January 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:

The inspection team consisted of 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. Our expert by experience’s area of expertise was the care of older people.

Service and service type:

Thornham Grove 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 that 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:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included information received from the provider about deaths, accidents/incidents and safeguarding alerts which they are required to send us 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.

During the inspection visit we spoke with seven people using the service and two relatives. We also spoke with the acting manager, registered manager, senior manager, compliance manager, activities co-ordinator, and two care workers.

We looked at two people’s care records. We also looked at other records relating to the management of the service including staffing, quality assurance, and accidents/incidents.

Updated 26 January 2019

About the service:

Thornham Grove is a registered care service providing care for up to 34 older people. It is situated in the centre of Ibstock. The accommodation is all on the ground floor. On the day of our inspection visit there were 25 people using the service.

What life is like for people using this service:

People told us they felt safe at the home. They said having staff nearby and their own belongings in their bedroom, made them feels safe. Staff knew how to protect people from harm. The home was well-staffed and people said staff came quickly when they rang their call bells. People had their medicines on time. The home was clean, tidy and fresh.

The staff were skilled and well-trained and provided good quality care and support. People made many positive comments about the food and said their favourite dishes served. Staff made sure people saw their GPs and other healthcare professionals when they needed to. People said they liked the way the with home was decorated. Two people said the call bells were too loud and the managers said they would address this.

The staff treated people with kindness and respect. They remembered people’s birthdays and brought them cards and presents and treated them like their own family members. Relatives could visit the home at any time and were made welcome by staff. People were encouraged and supported to be independent. For example, one person made their own tea in one of the kitchenettes and two people kept pets.

Activities were a big part of life at the home. We saw a bakery session in progress where people were enjoying decorating biscuits. The provider and managers ensured information was provided to people in a way they found accessible. For example, the home used pictorial menus and cards to support people to make choices and take part in activities. People told us that if they had any complaints about the service they would tell the managers or staff.

People told us they were happy living at the home and felt well-cared for. The environment was welcoming with lots for people, relatives and other visitors to look at including information on dignity, the Mental Capacity Act, staff awards, and photographs of activities taking place. The home had a comprehensive audit system in place which led to improvements being made to the service where necessary.

More Information is in the detailed findings below.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published on 15 June 2016)

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.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.