The Care Quality Commision say Linksway Nursing Home in Douglas Avenue 'requires improvement.' 

The home was inspected on June 6 and the inspector said: "Medicines were not always managed safely. Improvements were needed to the management of risk.

"Documentation and recording did not consistently reflect the care being provided, and staff did not always have the knowledge and skills to support people to change position in line with their individual needs.

"People were at risk because care plans did not provide the detailed information staff needed to meet their needs in line with their preferences.

"For example, there was no care plan to advise staff how best to support a person experiencing frequent periods of distress.

"There was no specific information in care plans about people's communication needs and care plans were not available in different formats, for example large print."

They did say that staff were open and transparent during the inspection and took immediate action in response to concerns raised. This included seeking advice from external health professionals, addressing concerns with the staff team.

Overall, people and relatives spoke highly of the quality and safety of the service. Comments included: "Staff take marvellous care of me. I am very happy here" and, "Oh, yes he's very safe, it's all fine, I can't fault them". 

Staff said they felt valued and happy working at the service. They felt well-supported and were passionate about their role. 

In response to the CQC inspection, Bob Gunn said: "We accept that there have been gaps in our documentation, none of which have had a negative impact on the high quality of care we continuously strive to deliver.

"Despite the rating of Requires Improvement, the bulk of the report is positive.

"Within the CQC inspection process we are required to submit an action plan by 30th August 2023, to deal with the specific areas that need improvement.

"By the time our action plan is submitted, every area outlined in the report will have been dealt with and we will then look forward to CQC re-inspecting as soon as possible, to re-instate our previous good rating."

Read the full inspection report HERE