Nunthorpe Hall

Updated 8 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 30 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 8 December 2020

About the service

Nunthorpe Hall is a care home providing personal care to 27 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 35 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Feedback about the service from people and those close to them was remarkably consistent and exceptionally positive. There was a well-established staff team who had worked at the home for several years.

The whole staff team were incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about the services they provided. They were highly motivated and said they were proud to work at the home and deliver a high quality, caring service. Staff at Nunthorpe Hall demonstrated that they were extremely committed to making a positive difference to people's lives. They were exceptionally caring and often went the extra mile to support people to a more fulfilled life.

The service was entirely flexible and changes or adaptations were made to meet people's current needs and choices. A person said, "I certainly feel fully very well-looked after here." There was excellent communication with external professionals to ensure services achieved positive outcomes for people including some people being supported to return to their own home.

People were extremely well-cared for, relaxed and comfortable. Care was completely tailored to each individual, risks were very well-managed. One relative commented, "We are pleased [Name]'s free movement and independence are encouraged, rather than suppressed even when such a course may be tempting."

Staff demonstrated an excellent understanding of each person's support needs and their personal preferences. They knew people and their histories very well. One person commented, "Staff are so helpful and patient. They are always extremely upbeat and so ready to help you. They always seem happy here." Staff training at the service was up-to-date and bespoke training was provided. The management team supported staff and encouraged them to become skilled and knowledgeable. The provider had ensured resources and skilled staff were available to support people.

The service was dedicated to ensuring continuous quality improvement to make a real difference for people. Highly person-centred care enriched people's lives, helped them to achieve their dreams and led to extremely positive outcomes. An extensive range of individual activities were available to promote people’s well-being. Staff supported people to maintain people's links with family and friends. Regular newsletters were produced to promote everyone's involvement in the service. This included ongoing communication about the large variety of activities and clubs that were available. There were also very positive opportunities to connect with the community, including partnership working with a local school.

People and their relatives were involved and supported in decision making. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s equality and diversity as unique individuals with their own needs was respected by staff.

The building was grand, accessible, light and spacious for the comfort of people. One person said, “It’s like living in a hotel.” People, relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 30 July 2016). There was also an inspection on 1 February 2018 however, the report following that inspection was withdrawn as there was an issue with some of the information that we gathered.

Why we inspected

This is a planned re-inspection because of the issue highlighted above.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.