- Care home
Thornton House Residential Home
Assessment report published 22 July 2026
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Assessment: 20 April 2026 – 18 May 2026. Thornton House Residential Home is a residential care home that was providing personal care to 18 older people at the time of the assessment. The service can support up to 22 people.
We carried out a site visit to the home on 20 April 2026, with the remainder of the assessment being conducted offsite. We assessed 34 quality statements from the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The overall rating is requires improvement.
Since the last inspection improvements had been made to the environment, for example, communal bathrooms had been updated and replaced. However, there remained areas for further improvements. For example, we identified concerns with the overall cleanliness of the kitchen.
Governance and quality assurance systems had developed since the last inspection. However, audits had not always been effective in identifying shortfalls in the standards of care and support we found, such as with medicines management and care records.
The service was currently without a registered manager. The provider was required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at the location. However, alternative governance arrangements were in place to help ensure oversight and a new manager was due to commence with the service in the coming weeks.
People enjoyed group activities when they were on offer, but some people told us they lacked meaningful stimulation at times. The service was in the process of recruiting an activity co-ordinator, to offer people a greater variety of activities to participate in.
Although we saw some positive practices with medicines management, there remained some areas for further improving. People’s care plans did not always contain accurate and consistent information, which meant people were at risk of not receiving the care and support they needed.
There were enough trained staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had received mandatory training and more specialist training such as dementia care.
At the last inspection the provider was in breach in relation to Regulation 12 Safe Care and Treatment and Regulation 17 Good Governance. The service was rated as ‘inadequate’ and placed in ‘special measures.’
At this inspection, we found the provider had made enough improvement to meet the breaches of regulation and was no longer in special measures. However, further and more sustained improvements in the safety and quality of care still needed to be made.
People's experience of this service
Overall, people told us they were happy with the care received at Thornton House, although some people felt the variety of the activities on offer could be improved, in addition to the quality of the food. Comments included, “I would like to get out more” and “The food is OK.” A relative told us, “I would say that there could be more activities, but the staff do their best. It’s a great home though with a real family feel.”
One person told us, “It’s the best home I have been in.”