Inspectors who visited a Perth care home during a coronavirus outbreak have said staff were following safety practices.
A team from the Care Inspectorate arrived at Balhousie’s North Inch care home on February 8 to scrutinise practices.
At the time, a number of residents, believed to be in the region of 13, returned positive tests for Covid-19.
The cases at Balhousie’s North Inch care home were the first at the facility since the start of the pandemic.
Now, inspectors say the home and its residents were in safe hands and improved the rating they scored the home in May 2020.
An inspection report said “a wide range of auditing and quality assurance was taking place to help promote a safe environment.”
The watchdog reporter added: “Following further intelligence about the care home we conducted an inspection between 8 and 16 February.
“The home was closed to all but essential visitors, in line with advice from the local
public health department.
“The environment was homely and well maintained. There was evidence of investment in improving the environment. A wide range of auditing and quality assurance was taking place to help promote a safe environment.”
Balhousie North Inch was scored with good and adequate ratings across the board.
The reporter added: “We had some concern about the quality of medication records and monitoring and further improvements were required.
“The manager used a dependency tool to capture changes in people’s needs to
ensure the service was able to respond quickly and adjust staffing accordingly.
“This had helped to ensure that people had the right level of support at key times,
including early morning and evenings.
“Care planning was completed to a good standard using an electronic system that
was continually updated.
“Managers should continue to develop systems to ensure a focus on person-centred planning which clearly includes agreed outcomes for people.”
Bosses believe the feedback helps back up the belief that coronavirus outbreaks can happen in well-prepared venues.
A spokesperson for Balhousie Care Group said: “We are extremely proud of our team at North Inch for their consistently hard work and for the supportive, quality environment they provide for our residents, which is evidenced in the Care Inspectorate’s findings.”