Castle Douglas care home could lose registration without improvements
Improvements to environment and infection control processes at Carlingwark Care Home must be completed by November 9
Last updated 5th Nov 2024
A care home in Castle Douglas is under threat of closure, following an inspection which evaluated the service as “weak” in all five categories.
Carlingwark Care Home has been issued with a notice to complete improvements to the care home’s environment and the infection control processes by Saturday November 9.
A new deadline of December 30 has also been set to meet requirements in three other areas.
New admissions currently suspended at Carlingwark
While improvements are ongoing, new admissions to the care home are currently suspended.
The improvement notice comes following an unannounced inspection by the Care Inspectorate in late August this year.
According to the report, all five criteria – wellbeing support, leadership, staff team, setting, care and support plan – received the second-lowest score “weak”.
Although staff were described as “kind” and “helpful”, the inspection “highlighted a risk to people's mental and physical wellbeing, due to the negative impact from not experiencing meaningful connections.”
Care home residents told inspectors: “No one asks you about your needs”, and “Don't know what to do with myself, don't do anything just sit here all-day bored stiff”.
Welfare of residents is "absolute priority"
The inspectors also noted concerns about cleanliness of the home and observed a failure to address recommendations from a previous inspection.
Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHSCP) says its “absolute priority is the welfare of the residents”. DGHSCP says it “immediately sought assurance on their welfare from Carlingwark’s owners Park Homes, and that work is being undertaken to meet the requirements of the Improvement Notice.
“DGHSCP views the issuing of an Improvement Notice as a serious matter, and notes that the Care Inspectorate has the authority to cancel a care home owner’s registration should it fail to meet expectations.”