Wednesday August 19th 2026
St Andrew's Care Home, Hawick
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A bored resident told inspectors on a visit to an under-staffed Scottish Borders care home: “I want more to do”.
St. Andrew’s Care Home located on the outskirts of Hawick provides nursing and residential care and is registered for 30 people, including short breaks and respite.
At the time of a visit by two representatives of the Care Inspectorate on July 29 there were 28 people living in the care home.
People supported and their relatives consistently described care staff as caring, compassionate and committed.
They benefitted from effective health monitoring, medication management and care planning arrangements.
But leadership and governance arrangements were not fully effective in identifying and responding to the impact of staffing pressures.
Staffing levels and deployment of staff were not consistently sufficient to meet people’s needs, inspectors found.
The service was rated ‘weak’ for both supporting people’s well-being and its staff team and ‘adequate’ for leadership, its setting and the care and support planned.
In the area of supporting people’s well-being the report states: “We made an evaluation of weak for this key question.
“Whilst some strengths could be identified, these were compromised by significant weaknesses.
“During our visit, we observed positive and caring interactions between staff and the people they supported.
“Staff were working hard to meet people’s needs despite challenging circumstances.
“Relatives consistently spoke positively about the care provided by staff and described them as caring and committed.
“However, concerns about staffing levels were a recurring theme. Relatives commented that staff appeared ‘under pressure and busy, and at times rushed’ and that the service needed more staff to meet people’s needs effectively.
“These concerns were consistent with feedback gathered from staff and our observations during inspection.
“We found that opportunities for meaningful activity and engagement were limited and did not consistently support people’s well-being.
“During our visit, many people spent long periods in communal areas with few opportunities for stimulation, social interaction or purposeful activity.
“One resident told us, ‘I want to do more’, which reflected our own observations.”
Inspectors found mealtimes did not always provide the positive, relaxed experience people should expect.
Delays in meals and support meant some people waited longer than they should have.
During the visits, inspectors found that staffing pressures within the laundry service led to delays in returning clothing and personal belongings.
“As a result, people’s comfort, dignity and personal preferences were not always supported as consistently as they could have been,” the report states.
Among the recommendations made is that by September 22 the provider must ensure people are supported to participate in meaningful activities and experiences that promote “well-being, maintain skills and independence, and reflect their individual interests, preferences and outcomes.”
Improvements to laundry procedures and ensuring adequate numbers of skilled and competent staff are on duty are also required measures, amid “significant concerns about staffing levels and deployment of staff”.
Bradford-based Park Homes (UK) Limited, operators of the home, have been approached for comment.
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