Tag: care homes

Supporting care home residents’ right to visit loved ones

Social Care Minister hails “landmark” Anne’s Law regulations

Social Care Minister Tom Arthur has welcomed the Scottish Parliament’s unanimous approval of new measures enshrining the right of care home residents to contact with family and friends.

Anne’s Law was developed following the COVID-19 pandemic, when restrictions on care home visits had a significant impact on residents’ health and wellbeing, but will also apply in circumstances such as flu outbreaks.

The regulations establish that homes must allow and support visiting unless suspension is essential to prevent serious risk to life, health or wellbeing. Even then, care homes are still required to facilitate visits for those nearing end of life or where the harm caused by suspension outweighs other risks.

Those who are most important to a care home resident will be named in personal care plans as essential care supporters – with a legal presumption that suspending their visits is likely to seriously harm health and wellbeing. 

Social Care Minister Tom Arthur said: “Meaningful activity and social connections are important for the wellbeing and quality of life of people living in adult care homes. For many residents, family members or friends build on the support provided by care home staff.

“These regulations enshrine the right to direct contact in law and recognise the vital role family, friends and others play in providing essential care, support and companionship to loved ones in adult care homes.

“In developing the legislation, I am pleased that we were able to work closely with Natasha Hamilton, whose petition first highlighted the issue during the pandemic.

“It is another important landmark in improving and reforming the social care system and I thank Care Home Relatives Scotland and others for their continued work and support.”

Spokesperson for Care Home Relatives Scotland Cathie Russell said: “On behalf of Care Home Relatives Scotland and people living in care, we welcome the regulations for Anne’s Law passing this milestone in Parliament today.

“This law ensures that the damage caused by isolating residents from their loved ones and the importance of recognising residents as members of society is always taken into account.

“Those closest to loved ones in care are not simply visitors but essential care supporters. We are grateful to everyone who has worked to make this happen.”

Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Care Donald Macaskill said: “Scottish Care warmly welcomes the Scottish Parliament’s passing of Anne’s Law. Enshrining the right of care home residents to maintain meaningful connections with those who matter most is a vital human rights milestone.

“This legislation recognises the profound importance of relationships, autonomy and emotional wellbeing in care, and we look forward to working with partners to ensure its implementation strengthens the lives of those who live and work in Scotland’s care homes.”

The foundations of Anne’s Law were developed through updated guidance and strengthened health and social care standards. It was put on a statutory footing as part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 and these are supporting regulations.

The Care Home Services (Visits to and by Care Home Residents) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 [draft] were approved on Wednesday 4 March and will come into force on 31 March.

Consultation on care homes and ‘care at home’ services

Views sought on extending Freedom of Information provisions

Private and third sector providers of care home and ‘care at home’ services may be made subject to Freedom of Information laws.

Following the Covid pandemic, ministers agreed to look at extending provisions in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) to cover care services. The Act enables the Scottish Government to extend Freedom of Information rules to cover organisations delivering ‘functions of a public nature’.

A consultation will seek views on whether providers of care homes and ‘care at home’ fall under that definition and if so, whether and how the Government should exercise its power to extend FOISA to cover them.

It will also cover other issues, including whether services should only be covered if they receive public funding, whether services for children and young people should be included and how a change in the rules might affect organisations of different sizes.

Minister for Parliamentary Business Graeme Dey said: “Care home and ‘care at home’ services are of the utmost importance to people, including some of our most vulnerable citizens.

“There is a good argument that these services can be considered to be public functions, and that statutory FOI obligations should therefore be extended to private and third sector providers in this area. Doing so would put the same obligations on those providers to be open and transparent that we already place on public sector providers of similar services, such as local councils.

“We will therefore publish a public consultation to gather the views of people who rely on these services for the care of themselves, their friends and family and the wider community. We also want to hear the views of people who work in and with the sector, and from provider organisations. 

“This government recognises the significant pressures that the social care sector is facing and to be effective, any future roll out of Freedom of Information will need to take place in partnership with the sector, taking this into account. Therefore I hope as many people as possible will engage with this consultation.”

The consultation will open on January 5th 2026 and close on March 30th 2026.

GIQ – consultation on care homes

Celebrating individuality through person-centered approaches

Glencairn Care Home in Edinburgh has been celebrating individuality through person-centred approaches. The home has introduced Artificial Intelligence (AI), Namaste care and other tools such as staff matching documents and the digital pain tool, Painchek.

The home used staff profiles and staff matching tools to develop wellbeing companions to replace a key worker system. From this, relationships have flourished developing more trust between staff and residents.

Through person-centred care planning, staff have identified residents’ interests, strengths and wishes and now residents are far more engaged.

Wellbeing companions have supported some residents to achieve their dreams.

Staff have also noticed a reduction in stress and distress with some residents coming out of their bedrooms more, some spending more time outdoors, and spending time with others, becoming less isolated.

Olive, a resident in the home said: “I have had the best day of my life in years. It really is marvellous all of the work you are doing in here. It has honestly given me a sense of purpose again.”

Initially staff were hesitant, however after seeing some immediate results, particularly through using Painchek and the Namaste approach, staff have been more motivated to take part in activities and overall, morale has improved.

Emily, team leader said: “It has been so rewarding seeing the residents engage, in particular residents having conversations where they wouldn’t have had before.”

Some other benefits have shown improved outcomes for residents living with stress and distress and encouraged independence. The home has also seen a reduction in pain and anti-psychotic medication throughout using Painchek.

Jozi, care home manager said: “I can’t begin to explain how fulfilling and empowering this change of practice and essentially change of culture has been for us.

“To see a reduction in medications is rewarding alone, but to see the improvement in residents’ wellbeing has been remarkable.”

Care News from the Care Inspectorate

Extensive Edinburgh care facility set for redevelopment following sale

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co, has announced the sale of the former Braid Hills Nursing Home in Edinburgh.

Braid Hills was formerly a nursing facility registered to care for up to 119 residents. It occupies an extensive detached two-storey 1990s purpose-built property on a circa 3.84-acre plot located within the Liberton suburb of Edinburgh.

Previously owned by Bupa Care Homes, the business ceased trading in July 2024.

Following a sales process with Martin Daw at Christie & Co, the home has been sold to Michael Ladhar of Crown Care Group who plans to extensively redevelop the site, turning the home into a state-of-the-art, future-proof facility. He plans to reopen the home in the next few years.

Michael Ladhar, Owner of Crown Care Group, comments, “Being based in Newcastle, we have long considered the Scottish market as a logical direction for our growth.

“We see that there is an under-provision of best-in-class care homes against a backdrop of growing demand, and this particular home allows us the opportunity to redevelop the site to put our unique stamp on it in its established scenic setting.

“We develop and operate our care homes for the long term, and we look forward to developing this site to match, if not surpass, our previous developments.

We look forward to this being the first of a number of care developments in Scotland. We are still at the design stage but home to have our scheme finalised in the coming months.”

Martin Daw, Senior Director at Christie & Co, comments, “It was great to see that a closed 90’s build care home site will be transformed into a brand-new care facility over the coming years.

“It’s also encouraging to see such an experienced operator with a reputation for delivering high-quality care provision entering the Scottish market, and we look forward to seeing them grow in the years ahead.”

Braid Hills Nursing Home was sold for an undisclosed price.

Care Homes invite community to April Open Day

SATURDAY 12th APRIL from 10am – 4pm

Strachan House and Queens Manor in Edinburgh will be opening their doors to the local community for an day of coffee and cakes on Saturday 12th April.

Taking place between 10.00 am – 4.00 pm guests will be able to enjoy home-made cakes prepared by the home’s Head Chef, and will have the chance to meet the team and take a tour of the home.  

Frances Fisher, General Manager at Strachan House, says: “I’m excited about welcoming new visitors and existing friends of the home to our open day.

“Looking for care can be a little bit daunting, but our team here at Strachan House will do all we can to provide all of our guests with the guidance and support they may need, and answer all of their questions, big or small.

“Our open day is a great chance to enjoy some delightful entertainment in a homely and friendly setting- hope to see you all there!”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides nursing care and dementia care from respite care to long term stays.

Care Homes invite local community to November Open Day

Strachan House and Queens Manor in Edinburgh will be opening their doors to the local community for an day of coffee and cakes on Saturday 9th November.

Taking place between 10.00 am – 4.00 pm guests will be able to enjoy home-made cakes prepared by the home’s Head Chef, and will have the chance to meet the team and take a tour of the home.  

Frances Fisher, General Manager at Strachan House, says: “I’m excited about welcoming new visitors and existing friends of the home to our open day.

“Looking for care can be a little bit daunting, but our team here at Strachan House will do all we can to provide all of our guests with the guidance and support they may need, and answer all of their questions, big or small.

“Our open day is a great chance to enjoy some delightful entertainment in a homely and friendly setting- hope to see you all there!”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. 

Strachan House provides nursing care and dementia care from respite care to long term stays.

Local Carer celebrates 20 years of service with Strachan House

A much cherished Care Assistant at the Strachan House Care Home in Edinburgh has received a prestigious Long Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 20 years. 

Greg Libanan, a much valued Senior Care Assistant, started at Barchester in 2004 and has worked in dedication with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years. 

He was presented with a £250 shopping voucher by visiting Regional Director Mandy Hurst, a golden leaf and gifts from his colleagues and friends.

Adele Keenan, Employee Services Director at Barchester said: “I’m always pleased to hear stories about the long service of Barchester staff and am delighted Greg has achieved this milestone.

“It is dedication like this that ensures our residents are provided with a happy place to live.”

Frances Fisher, General Manager of Strachan House said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating 20 years of loyal service with Greg. He has demonstrated his dedication and loyalty to this home and its residents year after year.

“I speak for all of us here at The Newton House Care Home when I say that I’m looking forward to many more years of working with Greg.”

Strachan House Care Home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Newton House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Trailblazing AI adopted by Edinburgh care home

Pain monitoring technology helps gives residents a voice

TWO FAMILY-run Edinburgh care homes are at the leading-edge of artificial intelligence (AI) – having implemented new technology that assesses tiny changes in expressions to understand residents’ pain and comfort levels.

One of Scotland’s top rated care home groups, Elder Homes Ltd has adopted PainChek’s technology across its two care homes in Edinburgh to assist staff in assessing pain levels for its 90+ residents.

PainChek uses AI facial recognition to analyse facial expressions from a smart device’s camera. It detects pain indicators like grimaces and winces and guides caregivers through observing other pain behaviours like vocalisations and movements resulting in an overall pain score to help monitor the effectiveness of pain management over time.

The app aims to improve the quality of life for those with cognitive difficulties who may struggle to communicate their discomfort, such as people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Residents and staff at Elder Homes have been using the app since July 2022, which has resulted in better pain detection and treatment, reduced reliance on pain medication as well as more accurate treatment plans.

Cheryl Henderson, Education and Dementia Coordinator at Elder Homes has been spearheading the implementation of PainChek, while ensuring relevant members of staff are trained to care for residents diagnosed with dementia.

Commenting on the success of PainChek, she said: “Treating our residents with dignity is one of our key aims. We want to ensure all residents feel at home, whilst receiving the highest standard of care.

“Using this technology, and other technologies across our homes has been extremely rewarding. We’re excited to see how the use of technology continues to develop and the benefits it can bring to care home residents across Scotland.”

The care home also utilises other innovative technologies including electronic medication system which assist in monitoring medication given to residents, and electronic charting.

PainChek is currently being used in 18 care homes across Scotland, as well as forming a pillar of the Care Inspectorate’s Quality Improvement Plan which sees a further 15 care homes trialling the tech.

PainChek’s Head of Business Development UK&I Tandeep Gill said: “Our latest figures reflect the value and impact of the PainChek technology in UK care homes and worldwide.

“Reaching over three million pain assessments is a real milestone for us – each one brings more objectivity and consistency to evaluating pain, whilst making a difference to care home residents and enhancing their quality of life.

“We’re delighted to see staff at Elder Homes leading the way in adopting PainChek and embracing innovation to improve pain assessment and deliver person-centered care.

“By achieving positive outcomes for care home residents and the care staff involved in the Care Inspectorate trial, we hope to gain the opportunity for a broader government-funded rollout across Scotland.”

Founded in Australia in 2016, PainChek is the world’s first regulatory cleared medical device for the assessment of pain, enabling best-practice pain management for people living with pain in any environment, from those who cannot reliably self-report their pain, to those who can, and for those whose ability to self-report their pain fluctuates.

Cluny Lodge was recently awarded top marks in a recent Care Inspectorate inspection for supporting its resident’s wellbeing.

The two Morningside care homes are currently home to 90 residents, who come from a range of backgrounds, all of which receive 24-hour care who according to the Care Inspectorate are receiving the best care possible.

Driven by a personal need for exceptional later in life care, Loren and Julie Hufstetler established the family-run Elder Homes in 1984. For almost 40 years, Elder Homes has provided individualised support and compassionate service to seniors requiring assistance with daily living.

To find out more about Elder Homes, please visit: 

https://www.carehomeedinburgh.co.uk/

Edinburgh care home awarded top marks by Care Inspectorate

A FAMILY-owned care home can lay claim to being one of the best in Edinburgh, after becoming one of the only care homes in the city to score a rarely awarded six out of six, following an annual inspection by the sector watchdog.  

Cluny Lodge Care Home, owned by Elder Homes Ltd, received top marks for supporting the wellbeing of its residents and staff in its most recent Care Inspectorate report. 

Scored as ‘excellent’, the highest mark awarded, the report commended the home’s excellent health and wellbeing outcomes, co-production and the relationships between staff, residents, and relatives.  

The care home has a holistic approach contributing to the high health and wellbeing outcomes of the residents. In addition to the usual roles it takes to make a care home work well, the team also includes in-house physiotherapists, social & leisure team and nutritional support workers.  

Marcela Patriche, Care Homes Manager at Elder homes, said: “We really believe that elderly living should come with a purpose, as moving into a care home should be a new chapter in your life. 

“This outstanding inspection result reflects our team’s commitment to providing truly person-centred care.  

“I continue to be amazed by the outstanding feedback from our staff, residents and families. We’re all so proud of the work we do creating an at home environment whilst providing high quality care. 

“We work with our residents and staff to innovate new ways of enhancing wellbeing and quality of life, and it’s so rewarding to have this reflected in such a glowing report.” 

With over 180 members of staff, many of whom have worked for the care home for over 20 years, the care home is able to consistently provide one on one care meeting the residents’ varying needs. The home has a dedicated training team, ensuring each team memberfrom senior leadership to support staff, receive dementia awareness and role specific training.  

The report also scored Cluny Lodge’s leadership as ‘very good’, highlighting that staff were provided with regular support and supervision, whilst praising the care homes inclusion of family representatives in quality and improvement-based discussions.   

Residents at Cluny Lodge, and sister care home, Chamberlain, have access to a wide range of activities, outings, concerts, and events aimed at providing social, mental, and physical stimulation. The home also provides one-on-one interactions that help residents maintain connections to their local community. 

In addition to social events, the care home utilises innovative technologies including electronic medication dispensaries and Artificial Intelligence to assess pain levels to assist in managing the use of pain medication.   

The Morningside care home is currently home to 65 residents, who come from a wide range of backgrounds, all of whom receive 24-hour care who according to the Inspectorate are receiving the best care possible. 

Driven by a personal need for exceptional later in life care, Loren and Julie Hufstetler established the family-run Elder Homes in 1984. For almost 40 years, Elder Homes has provided individualised support and compassionate service to seniors requiring assistance with daily living. 

The full inspection took place in August, and the full report can be found here: https://www.carehomeedinburgh.co.uk/docs/cluny-inspection-report.pdf  

To find out more about Elder Homes, please visit: 

https://www.carehomeedinburgh.co.uk/  

Strachan House hosts a fairytale start as part of new Fringe Cares initiative

Strachan House Care Home in Blackhall was one of four Barchester homes who set their stage by hosting their first of many Edinburgh Fringe Cares events on Saturday.

Following on from the success of our Edinburgh Fringe Cares events last year at Barchester’s Queens Manor and the ongoing community links that were built, Barchester became the founding sponsor of an even bigger event this year and for years to come – The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Care Fest.

Eventually, the long term goal would be for all Edinburgh care homes to be part of this amazing initiative, no matter what company, but in the meantime Barchester got to go first, with 4 of their Edinburgh homes taking part!

It’s hoped this year’s events will shape the foundations for other care providers to follow suit in the coming years.

Strachan House immerse their residents and families into a spectacular performance from their nominated Edinburgh Fringe performer’s Octovoce, who took the audience through a magical journey of cappella style song.

The promotional event was one of four that Barchester Healthcare sponsored to showcase how the Edinburgh Fringe should be made accessible to everyone in care homes. 

Strachan House was one of the four homes to demonstrate how successful these events can be and how it can benefit residents wellbeing. 

Mandy, Head of Activities, said: “This was a fun event to do. Staff and residents loved getting on board by dressing up in character and our chefs prepared a themed menu of goodies for the special occasion.

“The home was transformed into a colourful castle of colour as our residents were taken on a magical afternoon of music. But the biggest success has been to be part of the four Barchester homes to showcase how every home in Edinburgh can do this.

“Along with Queens Manor, Archview and Drummond Grange, who also hosted their Edinburgh Fringe Cares events, we hope that this is something that will continue for years to come for everyone living in a care home.

“Putting this event together and having the residents on board with all their ideas has been amazing and to support them to bring it all together has been an honour.

“Professor Joe Goldblatt who attended the event and created the idea behind Edinburgh Fringe Cares has been truly inspiring.”

General Manager, Gordon Philp said, “Our residents and staff have been very excited about this event and the team worked so hard behind the scenes to ensure it is was great success.

“We do our best to provide a wide range of activities and entertainment at Strachan House as part of the lifestyle enrichment programme for residents, and this was will certainly be outstanding, and certainly will be remembered for years to come.

“Our aim was to demonstrate to other care providers how this can be achieved and the benefits of delivering it within a care home setting.”

Strachan House care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Strachan House provides residential care, nursing care and dementia care for 83 residents from respite care to long term stays.