A CARE home in East Dorset has received a positive report from inspectors during the height of the pandemic.

Fairlawn care home in Ferndown was rated as 'Good' overall by Care Quality Commission (CQC) watchdog.

The St Mary's Road care home also received 'Good' inspection status for the areas of is the service safe and well-led areas, improving from 2019 when it was deemed 'Requires Improvement ' in these categories.

Inspectors carried out a focused inspection last month to see how the care home had progressed since the visit two years ago when a breach of legal requirements was found.

The CQC said improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

A summary from the inspector said: "Improvements had been made to planned staffing levels. The improvements had been sustained following our last inspection.

"There was a focus on recruitment and retention of staff at Fairlawn. People, their relatives and staff told us this had improved.

"There was a new manager who complimented the team already in place."

The report from the CQC came a month after welcoming new home manager Veronika Blake to the Care South service.

Ms Blake joined Fairlawn, which had 55 people living at the home at the time of inspection, having had years of care experience, previously supporting people living with learning disabilities at Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

She said: “Fairlawn is a great place to be, with a homely feel, amazing staff and lovely residents.

"I believe the key to creating a great care home is being open and communicating with everyone to help build strong, collaborative relationships – be that with residents, relatives, or external health care organisations.”

Aaron Whitehead, Care South director of residential care, added: “This improved rating is a great reward for the hard work being put in by everyone at Fairlawn, especially given the added pressure of supporting residents and keeping the safe during the pandemic. I would like to thank them all and look forward to a bright future for the care home under Veronika’s leadership.”