Thornton Hall & Lodge

Updated 31 May 2024

Date of Assessment: 20 to 27 January 2025. Thornton Hall & Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 96 people. The service provides support to older people including people living with dementia.

We carried out a site visit to the home 20 January 2025, with the remainder of the assessment being conducted offsite. The assessment was prompted in part due to concerns received about safe care, staffing and leadership. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We assessed a total of 15 quality statements from the safe and well-led key questions.

Information was not always available to guide staff on the safe use of some medicines to be given to people when required (PRN). Some parts of the environment and equipment were not kept clean and hygienic increasing the risk of the spread of infection. Governance systems were not always used effectively in identifying these areas for improvement. Managers responded immediately during the site visit. A deep clean of communal areas took place and guidance on the use of PRN medicines was put in place.

Safety concerns were listened to and investigated in a timely way and lessons were learnt to prevent future occurrences. Managers and staff knew the different types of abuse and how to report any safeguarding concerns. Medicines were stored and administered safely by suitably trained staff. There were sufficient numbers of staff suitably skilled and experienced, and they had been recruited safely.

There was an experienced manager in post, and they had applied to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to become the registered manager. There was a positive culture based on listening, learning and trust. Staff felt supported, valued and able to speak up with confidence. There was good partnership working with others in ensuring people’s needs were met.

Updated 31 May 2024

We spoke with people about their experiences of the care they received. We also spent time observing the care of other people who could not directly tell us about their experience.

Overall people spoke positively about their experiences of care, and we observed positive interactions between people and staff. People told us they felt safe and were treated well. People spoke positively about the manager and were confident about raising any concerns about their safety. Their comments included, “I feel very safe here. They [staff] do things carefully,” “I feel safe and well looked after, room is always cleaned daily” and “Very safe.” We observed staff attending to people’s needs in a timely way. Staff consulted and reassured people when providing care and support such as when assisting them to mobilise using equipment. People told us the manager was visible and approachable. Their comments included, “The new manager is always around, and I feel confident to raise any concerns I have with them, would just go and see them in the office” and “[Manager] is lovely and often pops in, I would feel confident to raise any concerns if I needed to.” One person told us about a recent concern they had raised with the manager, the person told us the manager dealt with their concern immediately.