Thorn Springs

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment, and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

This is the first time we have inspected this key question since the service registered with us. At this inspection, we have rated this key question good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

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 made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing, and communication needs with them. People’s needs were assessed when they started using the service and they were supported to discuss their preferences, likes and dislikes as well as their support needs. Some people had been living at the service for some time, and their care plans and needs were reassessed regularly. One person said, ‘‘I was worried about coming here as it is my first time living in a care setting. I have been involved in all the discussions about how I want things and this has made me feel better.’’ A relative said, ‘‘From day one we have been made to feel like we are the ones in control of how things work and it has always been about what [family member] wants.’’

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. The management team stayed up to date with best practice in relation to supporting people. For example, they organised training for staff to support people living with different health conditions such as dementia. They updated people’s care plans where necessary and took feedback from visiting professionals seriously to promote best practice. A person said, ‘‘[Staff] are all lovely and are all very clever. They know what they are doing.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘As [family member’s] needs change, the staff keep up to date with how best to support them which is good.’’

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services. Staff told us they worked well together and shared information regularly to help make sure people had positive and consistent support. Staff worked well with other professionals to help people have positive outcomes. Professionals were positive about the relationship they had with the staff team and told us staff followed their directions to help make sure people had the right support. One person said, ‘‘The staff are always laughing and having fun with us and with one another.’’ A professional told us, ‘‘[Staff] always give their all when it comes to following directions and supporting people.’’

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. People were supported to be healthy in ways such as eating and drinking enough and being supported to not develop pressure sores. Staff knew how to support people with their needs, for example by preparing their food and drink in ways that were safe for them or supporting them to do exercises to stay healthy. Staff in charge of providing food and drink for people were trained to ensure people were safe and took the time to speak with people about the food on offer and the mealtime experiences.

However, people gave us mixed feedback about the food at the service. People’s comments included, ‘‘The meals are not great. Portions are small, the meat is tough and the vegetables are floppy.’’ and ‘‘I think the food is very hit and miss. I often must ask for an alternative which is a sandwich or an omelette.’’ Other people and relatives were more positive about the food. One person said, ‘‘The food is always good and so delicious.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘I wouldn’t mind eating some of the meals [family member] does and [staff] make sure they have their favourite breakfast every day.’’ We told the registered manager about people’s feedback and they were already aware this was an area for improvement. They said they would continue to focus on mealtime experiences and people’s feedback about food over coming weeks to make improvements to people’s experiences.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that people’s health outcomes were positive and consistent. The management and staff team reviewed people’s care plans and records to help ensure they were being supported in line with their support needs. People had experienced good outcomes in relation to their health needs such as not developing pressure sores and being supported to maintain healthy weights. One person said, ‘‘I feel much better since I started living here. The staff are kind and always look out for me.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘[Family member] does things they never would have done before like going out and about and getting involved in crafts. The move has been great for them.’’

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People were supported in line with the MCA. Where people did not have capacity to consent to their support, assessments were completed and decisions were made in their best interest, with involvement from those who knew them well. Staff understood the principles of the MCA and knew the importance of asking people for consent. One person said, ‘‘[Staff] know me well but will always ask before they do anything. They know I like it when they double check things.’’ A relative told us, ‘‘[Family member] finds it a bit more difficult to make decisions now but the staff always ask us for our thoughts when they need to help them.’’