Inspectors give 'very good' and 'good' reports to Highview House care home in Inverness
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AN unannounced inspection of an Inverness care home led to “good” and “very good” ratings being given, although areas for improvement were also identified.
Highview House Care Home run by Barchester in Scorguie Avenue, provides care for up to 83 older people including 22 with dementia in the special Memory Lane section.
Inspectors from the Care Inspectorate visited in early May and spoke with people using the service, family members and received 23 completed online surveys.
They also spoke with staff and management and observed practice and daily life, reviewed documents, and spoke with visiting professionals.
Key points noted were:
n Staff provide kind and respectful care.
n Staff were good at developing meaningful relationships.
n The service could offer more opportunities to socialise, and enjoy individual activities.
n People would benefit from
more trips into the wider community.
n Further work was needed in relation to the quality of the food and meal time experience.
n The standard of care planning was good.
n The service’s response to complaints, communications with and feedback from people and relatives was good.
n Staff morale and staff training was good.
In evaluating quality, the inspectors use a six-point scale where one is unsatisfactory and six is excellent.
Support for people’s wellbeing was rated good and the home’s leadership was viewed as very good.
The report stated: “People were supported with dignity, compassion, and respect. People we spoke with and relatives agreed with this and said: ‘The staff in Memory Lane are outstanding, every single one of them.’ ‘I cannot praise the staff highly enough.’
“However they also said that staff did not always have the time to support people to enjoy the outside or with activities.
“We saw a number of people were active in the care home, but we saw that people could be encouraged to socialise and access the safe outdoor spaces more, for walks and fresh air.”
