Cairn Home

Updated 19 May 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 5 May 2021 and was announced.

Updated 19 May 2021

About the service:

Cairn Home provides residential care services to older people with a range of support needs, including dementia and sensory impairment. It can accommodate up to 30 people.

People’s experience of using this service:

People we spoke with were overwhelmingly positive about their experience of receiving care at Cairn Home. More than one person told us it compared very positively with their experience of other services, and often people described the culture within the home as “one big happy family.”

The service had an open and supportive culture. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs. They treated people with respect and upheld their dignity when carrying out care and support tasks.

People’s needs were thoroughly assessed before they began to use the service. The registered manager described recent assessment processes and it was clear they developed a good picture of people’s needs before devising their care packages. This was undertaken with as much input from the person as possible.

Staff were competent and had the skills and knowledge to enable them to support people safely and effectively. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. Staff received regular supervisions and annual appraisals were planned. There was minimal turnover of staff, with many staff having worked at the home for a number of years.

Staff had awareness of safeguarding; they knew how to raise concerns and had received appropriate training. Steps were taken to minimise risk, and this was managed in a dynamic way so that when people’s needs changed risk assessments were amended to ensure they continued to keep people safe.

Staff worked with other agencies to provide consistent, effective and timely care. We saw evidence that the staff and management worked with other organisations to meet people’s assessed needs.

Managers were highly visible within the service and accessible to people using the service. People told us they knew the management team well and could speak with them whenever they wanted to. We saw that managers conducted a daily, documented, walk round of the home, and the rota had been designed to maximise the amount of time there was management presence within the home. The registered manager followed governance systems which provided effective oversight and monitoring of the service.

The premises were homely and well maintained. We observed a relaxed atmosphere throughout the home.

The service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was last inspected in August 2016, where it was rated good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk