A care home in Inverness has been told it must make improvements after the quality of care and support it provided to residents was graded 'weak' by inspectors.

The Care Inspectorate carried out an unannounced, high-intensity inspection at Fairfield Care Home, a care home for older people, in January.

It found that the quality of care and support provided was 'weak,' the second lowest possible grade. A previous inspection had graded the quality of care and support as 'unsatisfactory'.

A formal Improvement Notice remains in effect at the service, and some concerns raised in an earlier inspection had not been addressed, inspectors said.

In their most recent report, inspectors noted: "We have maintained the Improvement Notice and given extended timescales for those requirements that have not been fully addressed. 

"At this inspection we found that the service had not sufficiently addressed the seven requirements and five recommendations that were highlighted within the inspection report of August 2014.

"The service had not addressed the requirements that were made from three complaints, which were made to us and which were upheld. Furthermore they had not provided us with an action plan within the given timescales, as highlighted within the complaint reports."

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "We continue to have concerns about this service and are monitoring them closely to ensure they take action to meet the standards we expect.

"We will be inspecting again soon and if we are not satisfied that improvements are being made quickly on the areas we have highlighted, we will not hesitate to take further action.

"Everyone in Scotland has the right to safe, compassionate care which meets their needs and respects their rights. 

"Anyone with a concern about a care service can contact our helpline on 0345 600 9527."

Notes to Editors 

The latest inspection report is available here: http://www.scswis.com/berengCareservices/html/reports/getPdfBlob.php?id=273994