Grantown’s Lynemore Care Home impresses the Care Inspectors
A Grantown care home has made strong progress since its last inspection, with inspectors highlighting its caring staff, approachable management and well-planned activities.
Following December’s unannounced visit Lynemore Care Home – part of the Parklands Care Homes group – has been rated at 5 on a scale of 1 (unsatisfactory) to 6 (excellent), considered ‘very good’ for leadership, its staff team, the quality of its setting, and care planning, and at 4 ‘good’ for supporting residents’ wellbeing.
While an improvement is still needed required by the Care Inspectorate regarding medication administration, the latest report shows improvements in four categories since December 2024, with one – the quality of the setting – remaining at its previous very good rating.
Inspectors have described a “welcoming, caring” home where staff treated people with “dignity and respect.”
They noted “warm, kind and caring interactions” between staff and residents, and found that residents looked well cared for. A busy activities programme offered a balance of lively group events and quieter one-to-one sessions.
Staff were described as professional, caring and committed to providing the best possible care. Residents commented on the kindness of staff, with one saying they “treat me like a princess.”
Inspectors found a visible and approachable management team with strong oversight of the home’s operations. People described an “excellent leadership approach” and an open, supportive culture where staff felt able to raise concerns.
The findings noted that a mentorship programme is in place to support new recruits, and that staffing levels had been increased to respond to residents’ changing health and wellbeing needs.
The home itself was described as light, spacious and comfortable, with high-quality fixtures and fittings.
Lynemore manager Pamela Cummings said: “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved as a team since our last inspection. Everyone here works hard to make Lynemore a place where residents feel respected, supported and at home. Seeing that progress recognised in this report means a lot to all of us.”
Ron Taylor, managing director of Parklands added: “We are delighted with this very positive report, which reflects the dedication, compassion and professionalism of our team at Lynemore.
“I’m especially pleased with the progress Lynemore has made since its last inspection. This is a real credit to Pamela and her team, whose hard work, compassion and professionalism ensure residents receive the best possible care every day.”
After the December inspection two areas for improvement had been identified, the inspectors observing: “People's personal plans should identify how their health and wellbeing needs are being met. Staff should ensure that risks identified as part of people's health-based assessments are carried forward into people's personal plans in a responsive way.”
The requirement had been met: “Further to the previous inspection, we found evidence of more oversight and improved communication being in place to improve the quality of health assessments.
“A clearer process for auditing had been put in place to ensure that where risk was identified or changes were required, the health and wellbeing needs of people supported by this service were being met.”
One area of improvement remained: “People's medication should be planned and coordinated in a safe way. In order to do this, staff should review medication storage and administration to identify where improvements can be made, to support people's experiences being consistently safe and effective.”
Parklands is taking steps to address that, including further training for staff, ongoing competency checks, and drawing on additional support to strengthen processes and record keeping.