Thorndene Residential Care Home

Inspectors found a calm atmosphere and kind, caring staff. People and relatives said they were happy with the service and felt safe.

“There was a calm and happy atmosphere in the home. Staff were kind and caring and it was clear improvements had been made since our last inspection.” from the report

There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs. Staff had received training in several relevant areas.

“There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people's needs. They provided support in a kind and caring manner.” from the report

Risk assessments and care plans had improved, and staff knew how to respond to suspected abuse. The home was no longer in breach of the previous risk and safeguarding requirements.

“Staff accessed appropriate training to keep people safe and they were able to demonstrate how they would take action if they suspected someone was at risk of harm or abuse.” from the report

Families were involved in care planning, and residents could suggest improvements through regular meetings. The cook also changed menu choices to meet individual needs.

“Family members were involved in developing care plans.” from the report

New flooring had been installed, and refurbishment and redecoration were taking place in rooms and communal areas.

“Following our previous inspection new flooring had been installed and redecoration and refurbishment of rooms and communal areas was taking place.” from the report

Medicine audits were not yet consistently effective. Records did not show whether as-required medicines worked, and risk assessments were missing for prescribed creams stored in bedrooms.

“Where people were prescribed PRN (as required) medicines, guidance was in place to inform staff how and when these should be given but there was no information recorded about the effectiveness of the medicine following administration.” from the report

Behaviour records did not consistently record what happened before, during and after an incident. This limited the service's ability to identify learning and reduce repeat incidents.

“Behaviour charts were used as a record of an incident but they were not written in a way which identified what happened before, during and after the behaviour so learning could be identified.” from the report

The home was generally clean, but inspectors found shortfalls in cleaning the laundry area and freezers. Outside bins were overflowing because of how the bin area was arranged.

“The home was clean and odour-free but there were shortfalls around cleaning of the laundry area and freezers.” from the report

The provider had made progress, but its systems for audits, incident analysis and improvement planning needed to become routine and lasting.

“We recommended the provider continues to use its action plan approach to implement changes and developments to embed and sustain the improvements made.” from the report