A CARE HOME in Helensburgh has cause for celebration after they were praised by inspectors.

Hermitage House received unannounced visits by the Care Inspectorate on three dates in May.

The facility on Sinclair Street  received a glowing report, with the organisation graded ‘very good’ in three evaluation points and 'good' in the other two categories.

The care watchdog found that the staff were consistently engaging with people and their families to provide the required support for their needs.

The report stated: "Nursing staff were mindful to not just gather information, they analysed it to see what it meant for people and how their care could be tended to and how it could be improved if needed.

"A local surgical team had offered positive feedback to staff on how they dealt with wound care, staff were understandably pleased to have got such feedback from an external specialist team."

Inspectors were also left impressed with the welcome new staff received and the new skills that they brought to the facility's team.

They added: "We were impressed at the enthusiasm that staff had for new staff joining the team and a recognition that new staff can often bring new strengths to the current team.

"Equally, current staff could share their knowledge and experiences that they have developed over their careers."

"Hermitage House is a relatively new service and as such they have been building up their staff team over the last year in particular.

"Staff told us that they really enjoyed working there, they felt part of the whole team as well as part of their own smaller departments. Staff generally felt valued and able to express their views."

However, it was mentioned in the report that some staff in different departments found their workplaces "were oppressively hot to work in", and inspectors have issued guidance on the matter.

And despite the care home only being opened for just under two years, it was highlighted that people were able to benefit from the outdoors whilst in the home.

The report continued: "Homeliness was promoted though the design of the service where communal spaces were smaller and thus cosier and targeted towards generally no more than 10 people. That said people could go to different areas of the care home as they desired.

"We saw where staff positioned someone's bed in such a way that the person benefited from an outdoor experience whilst still inside - a bed facing an open window can be so much more comforting than looking onto a wall/doorway.

"Clearly staff were mindful of what a person wanted and what gave them happiness."

The watchdog also praised improvements made at the facility following a previous inspection in November 2022.

That report asked for the systems to recruit and train staff to be safer, completed all outstanding work to the new building and ensure "people benefit from a robust quality assurance management system".

All three requirements have since been met, with no new improvements set.

Manager Lynn Cumming said: "We are thrilled with our latest care inspectorate report. We could not have done it without our amazing staff, and I am incredibly proud of their dedication and compassion.

"Our residents and their families are at the heart of everything we do, and we continually strive for excellent, person-centred care, which the care inspectorate recognised in their inspection."