Lochaber care home passes inspection with flying colours
A Ballachulish-based nursing care home has been rated top out of 800 similar establishments in Scotland, writes Fiona Scott.
Abbeyfield House was the second on a care home league table compiled by The Times Scotland newspaper following a report by the Care Inspectorate. The number one spot was taken by Campbell Snowdon House, also ran by the Abbeyfield group, in Bridge of Weir which is a residential only facility.
Almost one third of care homes visited were classed as ‘high risk’ by inspectors while about 350 were rated medium risk and nearly 200, including Abbeyfield, ranking low risk according to the Care Inspectorate.
Their rigorous inspection covers four main areas – the quality of care and support, the quality of the environment, the quality of the staff, and their management and leadership. In every category Abbeyfield excelled, scoring a maximum of six across the board.
Abbeyfield House manager Louise Duffy said: ‘We are delighted to have been named the top nursing care home in Scotland.
‘We could not have achieved this without the fantastic staffing team, support from our board of trustees, as well as the support from the residents, families, and the wider community. Thank you to you all.’
Scottish Care welcomed the high rating for resident wellbeing for two thirds of homes but acknowledged ‘the challenge is that we need to see improvement in the other third’.
The Care Inspectorate is moving to a new scrutiny assessment tool (SAT), which will still rank homes with a risk indicator of low, medium and high.
‘Everyone in Scotland has the right to good-quality, compassionate care which meets their needs and respects their rights,’ said an Inspectorate spokesperson.