A Bonnybridge care home has achieved ‘excellent’ ratings for its staff and services for the second year in a row after a visit by the Care Inspectorate.

Balhousie Wheatlands near Falkirk gained the highest Grade 6 rating for its “sensitive, patient and caring” staff, resident activities that range from language lessons to physical games, and multi-sensory therapies aimed at people with advanced dementia.

Inspectors also praised the “compassion, dignity and respect” shown by staff to the 59 residents at the renovated 19th century home, one of 25 across Balhousie Care Group.

Grace Sloan, care home manager at Balhousie Wheatlands, said:

“I’m so proud of my staff for this latest round of ratings, and the comments made by residents and their families are the icing on the cake. To hear phrases like ‘nothing is a problem’ and ‘they are a credit to nursing’ make it all worthwhile.”

Developments at Balhousie Wheatlands in the past year include a lounge area which doubles as a film screening room, its entry door and corridor decorated to resemble a cinema entrance. A small room on the ground floor has been turned into an area for Namaste care – multi-sensory therapies, music and massage which address the needs of residents with advanced dementia.

The news of Wheatlands’ Grade 6 ratings is just the latest in a long line of recent accolades for the Perth-based Balhousie Care Group. In just the last few weeks the group has won Service Provider of the Year at the Courier Business Awards and care home worker Ross Balmer was named a runner-up in the Scottish Care Awards.

Claire Docherty, Head of Operations at Balhousie Care Group, said: “Wheatlands’ second round of Grade 6 ratings are hugely well deserved. The inspiring thing about Grace and her staff is that they don’t sit on their laurels. They’re always trying to make improvements and constantly coming up with innovative ways to make residents feel happy, healthy and secure in the home.”