Kirkcaldy care home’s unannounced inspection delivers positive report

The Care Inspectorate carried out its checks over four days at Chapel Level Care Home, and gave it a rating of good.

The inspection, carried out in April, evaluated how well it supported residents’ wellbeing, its leadership, staff,setting and how well care and support is planned. The home is run by HC-One which ahs care home across Scotland, England and Wales. The rating of ‘4-good’ demonstrates the home is providing high standards of care for residents. The report said: “People were supported in a homely environment and staff worked hard to support them well’.

Chapel Level cares for up to 60 people. The inspection was carried out by one person from the Care Inspectorate visiting the service, and another making phone calls to families. The report said staff showed kindness and empathy towards people living in the home, and noted improvements had been made to most record keeping - health assessment, care planning and record keeping were more consistent.

It said .further improvements were needed to ensure all residents had opportunities to engage in activities which were meaningful to them, and that the service was supporting all staff to develop dementia care in the home.

Staff also spoke of positive changes in the home, including a reduction in use of agency staff as more permanent posts were filled - they felt that this had led to more stability across the service and staff who knew people better. The well-being co-ordinator recognised that people had a range of abilities and offered both group and one to one support.

Jodie Clark, care home manager, said: “This report is a testament to the hard work and kind care that each and every member of the team puts in, day in day out.”

Maxine Smedley, HC-One’s managing director, said: “This rating is great news. I would like to thank the whole team for their commitment and hard work and congratulate them on such an impressive report. We are dedicated to achieving our aim of being the care provider of choice for those looking for the very best care and support, and employer of choice for the best, most professional, and kindest care staff.”