Peebles Care Home has made “sustained improvement”

There was “little or no engagement” with residents at Peebles Nursing Home, two representatives of the Care Inspectorate concluded after an unannounced visit to the home at Tweed Green on July 27.

Whilst staff were found to be kind and respectful to residents there was a lack of “meaningful engagement” and a lack of leadership which “directly impacted on the quality of care”, the inspectors found.

The report rated the nursing home ‘weak’ in three areas – supporting well-being, leadership and the staff team and ‘adequate’ for how well care and support is planned.

The home’s care provider, Edinburgh-based Mansfield Care Limited, apologised for the findings and pledged to implement the improvements.

And when an inspector with the Care Inspectorate paid a return visit on October 9, significant improvements were found to have been introduced – although further work still needed to be carried out.

Improvements noted included better staff communication and more consistent care.

Mealtime experiences for people were improved with a staff member allocated to oversee the dinning room for breakfast.

The deadline for further improvements to records of care and staffing was then extended to December 22.

Following an unannounced visit on January 16, further improvements were identified, with the service now rated ‘adequate’ for both supporting people’s well-being and its staff team.

The latest report says: “All requirements of previous inspections have now been met. This showed a commitment to sustained improvement.

“Recruitment of staff had been successful and there was a more stable staff team in place. This could lead to more consistency and would further enhance the quality of care.

“Whilst personal planning was much improved from previous inspections, further work was still needed to ensure daily records of care were accurate and reflected planned care.”