Dalkeith

Updated 16 February 2026

Date of assessment: 31 March 2026 to 30 April 2026. We visited the service on 31 March 2026. Dalkeith is a residential care home that provides accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care for up to 20 people. The service provided accommodation over three floors. At the time of our assessment, Dalkeith Residential Care Home was providing care for 20 people. There were 19 permanent residents and 1 person receiving respite care. There was a registered manager in post at the time of the assessment. We assessed all quality statements, across safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led key questions.

The provider did not consistently promote a proactive and positive culture of safety. At the time of the assessment, systems were not effective in evidencing how themes were identified, analysed, and used to drive learning and improvement. This meant opportunities to embed good practice were not always demonstrated.

We found some care plans contained information that was not factually accurate. There was no effective monitoring system to ensure care plans were regularly reviewed, up to date, and contained accurate and relevant information to reflect people’s needs.

The provider did not always ensure medicines were managed and disposed of safely and in line with their medicines policy. Medicines audits were ineffective and did not provide sufficient oversight of all areas requiring review to minimise the risk of errors. Although the provider had systems and processes to support medicine administration these were found to not always be followed.

Although leaders had some awareness of key issues and priorities within the service, overall oversight and governance were not effective. Governance systems did not consistently identify or address risks, and as a result, they failed to identify the concerns we found during this assessment.

Despite the governance shortfalls, care and support were mostly delivered in line with current evidence-based guidance and recognised good practice. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink to maintain their nutritional health. Staff worked in partnership with relevant professionals and agencies to achieve positive outcomes and to support people during transitions between services. Staff ensured people were supported to understand their care and treatment so they could give informed consent.

We observed staff to be kind, respectful, and responsive to people’s needs. The service benefited from good continuity of staffing, which helped ensure people received consistent care from staff who knew them well. Call bells were responded to, and people’s requests for support were addressed without unnecessary delay.

The service was accessible and worked to promote equality and eliminate discrimination. People received equitable care and treatment, and staff were supported through training and feedback to reduce health and care inequalities. Managers engaged positively with the local community and were open to new ideas to improve the quality of care provided.

This assessment identified breaches of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, person-centred care, and good governance. Where CQC takes regulatory action, information may be published on our website following the conclusion of any representations or appeals, should the action be taken forward.

Updated 16 February 2026

Not everyone using the service was able to speak with us directly due to factors such as health needs, cognitive impairment, or dementia, which can limit a person’s ability to communicate their views verbally. To ensure these people’s experiences were still understood and represented, we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI allows inspectors to observe care, interactions, and the environment to gain insight into the quality of people’s experiences when they are unable to describe them themselves. Through this approach, we were able to see how staff supported individuals and noted positive, respectful interactions between staff and people using the service.

We spoke with 9 people living at the service, 2 relatives and 1 friend during the assessment. Feedback about the care and support provided was positive, with people telling us they felt well supported and cared for.

A person living at the service told us staff, “are very attentive. I am very particular about presentation [of my breakfast]. They do it brilliantly”.

Relatives were equally positive about the home, with one family member commenting, “It’s great here because it is small: lovely staff. Lovely feeling when you walk through the door”.

People told us they were confident to raise any concerns. A person living at the home said, “I can speak to staff. They are very accommodating. No [complaints]”