A Dundee care home has been put under scrutiny and ordered to improve standards by its regulatory body because of “serious concerns” about the quality of care given to residents.
The Care Commission carried out an unannounced visit to Linlathen Neurodisability Centre north of Broughty Ferry last month and was not impressed by what it found.
In a report it graded the quality of care and support, environment and staffing all at the lowest possible level of one unsatisfactory.
Management and leadership at the specialist unit for brain-damaged people was rated only slightly higher at two weak.
The commission has ordered 16 improvements and said failure to raise standards will result in enforcement action, a step that can ultimately lead to closure.
The home has voluntarily agreed to stop taking new residents until improvements have been made.
The Courier received an anonymous email claiming that Linlathen is “in big trouble.”
The reader alleged staff had been suspended for misconduct and agency staff had been recruited to replace them.
It was also claimed that standards had slipped with the place being dirty.Smoking”Some patients still smoke in their rooms and the staff don’t know what to do if there’s a fire,” wrote the reader
“Patients have had to go for days without their proper tablets and some of them never get out and don’t get treated right. This should not be allowed to happen.”
A Care Commission spokesman confirmed it had investigated Linlathen and had not been happy about what it found.
The inspection report resulting from the visit acknowledged a detailed action plan had been developed which provided information on what action was planned to improve the quality of service.
The report said the service must address the shortfall in staffing and reduce the need for agency staff to ensure continuity of care can be provided by a stable staff group.
A refurbishment programme started in November would improve the quality of environment for people living there.
The report concluded, “A significant amount of work needs to be done to make sure the overall quality of service improves.
“This includes the completion of the refurbishment programme and building a stable staff group who are familiar with the care needs of each service user.”
A spokesman for the Care Commission said, “We continue to have serious concerns about the quality of care being provided to residents at Linlathen Neurodisability Centre.
“At our most recent inspection of the service we identified a range of issues and concerns and as a result the service was awarded grades of unsatisfactory (1) and weak (2). This is unacceptable in terms of the quality of care being provided to people.Issues”In recent months there have been numerous staffing and care issues at the service and these continue to cause us concern. The main issues regard staffing levels and skills and also the understanding of the support needs of people living in the home.
“This has included the management of smoking, and on this matter we have worked closely with our colleagues in the fire and rescue service and they, too, have undertaken inspection visits to the service.
“During this period we have increased our monitoring of the service having undertaken a number of additional visits, also resulting in additional requirements for improvement being made.
“We continue to work closely with the local authority, fire service and service provider to ensure that every one of the 16 outstanding requirements we have made are met. Linlathen has already voluntarily agreed to stop accepting any new residents until improvements are made.
“We will meet the service provider again in the coming week and further visits are planned to the service.”
A spokeswoman for the home’s owners, Four Seasons Health Care, said, “Linlathen Neurodisability Centre has a good track record and has previously received favourable inspection reports, so we take the recent critical report by the Care Commission most seriously.
“We have an action plan to address each of its requirements and are treating this as priority. A new acting manager has been appointed at the centre and, together with our regional and senior management team, she is working in close liaison with the Care Commission and the local authority to implement the required improvements.
“We have agreed with the Care Commission and local authority to suspend new admissions until these improvements have been carried out to our mutual satisfaction.
“It does not excuse the lapse in the quality standards that clients are entitled to expect from us, but because of concerns on the part of our regional and senior management a thorough review of the procedures and processes within the centre had already been implemented.
“The centre has also been undergoing a substantial refurbishment which caused some temporary disruption to usual routines. This refurbishment is now completed and the centre offers a far more comfortable environment.
“We are working hard to restore Linlathen’s high quality standards and we have already begun to see some improvements.”