- Care home
Blackthorns
Report from 28 February 2024 assessment
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Blackthorns is a purpose-built residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 62 people. The service provides support to older people including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 53 people living in the service.
This assessment was triggered by concerns we had received about the service. The assessment took place between 24 July 2024 and 22 August 2024 and included 2 unannounced site visits on the 24 July 2024 and 7 August 2024. Following feedback, we continued to request and review information to clarify points raised. We spoke with 13 people living in the service, and 15 staff during the site visits, and spoke with 16 people’s relatives/advocates. We also received feedback from 4 health and social care professionals. We assessed a total of 23 quality statements. For the quality statements we did not assess, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection (published March 2023) to calculate the overall rating. At the last inspection, Blackthorns was rated good, after having been previously rated requires improvement (published June 2019). During this assessment we found concerns with the quality and safety of people’s care. We identified 2 breaches of the legal regulations in relation to risks associated with safe care, and management oversight. Risk was not always safely managed. Audits and checks were not independently picking up risk placed people at risk of potential harm.
The overall rating of this service has changed to requires improvement.
During the assessment, the provider told us what action they were taking to address these concerns. This included recruiting to increase staffing levels, providing extra training for staff, more thorough audits and pre-admission assessments. However, these changes and improvements needed to be embedded to ensure people were consistently receiving safe care.
People's experience of this service
People’s experience varied depending on how much information staff had gained about the person prior to admission. Most spoke about the kind and caring staff who they had got to know and felt safe living in the service. Staff supported them with their medicines as prescribed and to access support with their health care.
Most of the relatives we spoke with said they visited regularly, and spoke positively about the service, whilst also acknowledging areas for improvement [staffing levels, meaningful occupation]. Most felt their family members received safe care. One relative told us, “Overall I think [family member] is safe there.” Relatives felt comfortable to raise any issues with the management direct. One relative commented that the registered manager “Is very easy to approach if anything needs discussing or sorting out.”