Strathspey care home operators pleased at inspectorate's positive review

A Grantown care home shortlisted as one of the best newcomers of 2020 has been given a clean bill of health after an earlier visit from the Care Inspectorate found some staffing issues.

Lynemore is operated by Parklands Ltd and there were 36 residents at the time of the unannounced inspection. The care home had been asked to meet two requirements by October following a visit two months earlier.

It had to ensure there were sufficient staff consistently rostered to ensure residents were ‘encouraged to promote an active life and support people to be able to take part in meaningful individual, group activities and conversations and to access the gardens for walks and fresh air’.

Steps were needed, among other things ‘to secure an activities co-ordinator to promote and enable people to get the most out of life.

A contingency plan was to be put in place to meet people’s social needs when no co-ordinator was in place.

Inspectors confirmed in their report published on December 14 this had all been achieved.

A second requirement called on Lynemore to ensure that by October 11 there were sufficient staff consistently rostered to keep people safe and to respond to their health and care needs.

The operators were told to maximise recruitment and ensure that there were sufficient domestic and kitchen staff on duty each day.

Staffing had to be regularly evaluated to demonstrate that it was responsive to people’s changing needs.

This requirement has also been met by the deadline.

The report stated: “Overall, people were happy with the care at Lynemore. They had good relationships with staff.

“People said ‘I am very happy here’, ‘I have no worries and I am well looked after’, the staff are all nice in here’. However, there were still some concerns about staffing levels which are included within our report.

“A relative also said: ‘Only negative thing is these constant shut-downs. They are having an impact on my relative’s mood and motivation. They miss us as we miss them’.”

A Parklands spokesperson said they valued ‘the many positive comments in the report from residents and relatives’.

He said: “This has been an extremely trying period for our hard working staff and we are grateful for everything they do.

“We are pleased to see the progress that has been made since the last report in August, with a higher score in relation to how we support people’s well-being, and all of the Care Inspectorate’s recommendations on care and support during the Covid-19 pandemic having been met.

“As the report indicates, there have been some challenges recruiting additional team members.

“This is always a challenge - the shortage of care staff in the UK is well documented - but is especially difficult in the midst of a pandemic.

“Nevertheless, the care and support of residents is our number one priority and we always ensure staffing levels are appropriate to enable us to deliver the high level of care our residents expect. In the meantime, we are actively working to recruit additional staff for the long term.”

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