Commission considers home closure

The home has failed to meet a number of required improvements

A home in the Borders could be closed by the Care Commission after failing to meet a number of required improvements.

Whim Hall near West Linton, which has 29 residents, was found to be providing poor standards of care in inspections.

An improvement notice was served in July but by last month none of its terms had been met. Plans are now being prepared to cancel its registration.

Guardian Care Homes UK Ltd apologised and said it had a high managerial staff turnover in the last two years.

The formal improvement notice was served on the home after five inspections between April 2008 and March this year found care was poor.

Last month regulators found none of their five requirements had been met, leading to the commission's proposals to cancel the site's registration.

'Apologise wholeheartedly'

Scottish Borders Council is working with the watchdog body to find alternative accommodation for the home's residents.

Guardian Care Homes UK Ltd, which owns the home, has now commissioned Cleethorpes Care and Nursing Ltd to oversee the day-to-day running of the home in a bid to prevent the closure.

Gary Hartland, managing director of Guardian, said: "We apologise wholeheartedly to our residents and their families for the failings at Whim Hall.

"We own a total of 11 care homes in Scotland and all of the others are rated as 'good' or 'excellent' by the commission, demonstrating that we are a company that is committed to providing high quality care for our residents."

The company is also advertising to recruit 10 senior healthcare assistants and carers for the home.