A Dundee day care has been praised and improvements have been made at a Perth home in the latest care inspections.
The Courier has taken a closer look at the most recent Care Inspectorate reports for Tayside, Fife and Stirling.
The organisation is the watchdog for the care industry and inspects providers such as care homes and childcare services to ensure they meet standards.
The watchdog grades services on key areas including wellbeing, leadership and staffing on a six-point scale where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent.
Some reports were only published weeks after the inspections took place.
Barnardo’s Holiday Playscheme, Dundee
Previous ratings
- Care, play and learning – 5
- Setting – 5
- Leadership – 5
- Staff – 5
New ratings
- Care, play and learning – 5
- Setting – 5
- Leadership – 5
- Staff – 5
Inspection date
October 10
Inspectors found children were looked after by “kind, caring and nurturing” staff.
Workers knew the children well and met their individual needs.
Children, families and staff were also consulted regularly to “inform the continued improvement of the service”.
North Inch House, Perth
Previous ratings
- Wellbeing – 3
- Leadership – 3
- Staff – 3
- Setting – 3
- Planning – 3
New ratings
- Wellbeing – not assessed
- Leadership – not assessed
- Staff – not assessed
- Setting – 4
- Planning – not assessed
Inspection date
October 23
Inspectors said people were “treated with kindness and respect” at the care home.
They also found the overall cleanliness of the home had improved since a previous inspection.
Inspectors had issued three requirements for the home during a visit on August 30.
These included improving cleanliness standards which were “insufficient to prevent the spread of infection”.
However, “enhanced checks” have since been introduced and the requirement was met.
Two other requirements, regarding the quality of information in people’s care plans and complaints procedures, were not met.
The home has been given until November 21 to make changes.
A spokesperson for Balhousie Care Group, which operates the home, said: “Our North Inch House team were pleased to receive a ‘Good’ Care Inspectorate (CI) outcome, which assesses it as a home where ‘people experience high-quality facilities’.
“In the weeks since the prior inspection, the team have worked determinedly to update those areas highlighted, including adding a specific name to the communications process.
“It was gratifying that the CI recognised this work in its report, underlining the kindness, respect and person-centred care within the home, along with the enhanced checks, daily audits and a noticeable attention to detail.
“We absolutely uphold, and work towards, a programme of continuous improvement but recognise this can take some time to fully deliver.
“This revisit has seen the CI happy with the progress, such that they have extended the deadline to allow completion of the good work.”
Caalcare Limited Housing Support, Dundee
Previous ratings
- Care and Support – 6
- Leadership – not assessed
- Staff – 6
- Environment – not assessed
New ratings
- Wellbeing – 5
- Leadership – not assessed
- Staff – 5
- Setting – not assessed
- Planning – not assessed
Inspection date
August 28
Inspectors said residents were “very positive” about the support they received at the care service, which provides combined care at home and housing support.
They said “positive, warm, compassionate relationships were evident” between residents and staff.
People were supported to be “as independent as possible” and could participate in a wide range of activities and experiences.
Tarra Care Home, Glenfarg
Previous ratings
- Wellbeing – 4
- Leadership – 5
- Staff – 5
- Setting – 4
- Planning – 4
New ratings
- Wellbeing – 4
- Leadership – not assessed
- Staff – not assessed
- Setting – not assessed
- Planning – not assessed
Inspection date
October 10
The Care Inspectorate said residents felt “safe” at the home, which cares for up to two children and young people.
It added that while there was no evidence of “adverse outcomes”, risk management processes needed to improve.
Inspectors found staff used “sensitive and nurturing responses to distressed behaviour” and that these reflected a commitment to reducing the use of physical restraint.
Young people also benefitted from “positive and respectful” relationships with staff.
The service was committed to improving “the likelihood of a successful transition to adulthood”.
Benvie Care Home, Dundee
Meanwhile, a Dundee care home has been taken over after it was threatened with closure.
Benvie Care Home has been bought by Renaissance Care.
It comes after a scathing inspection report in June raised concerns about end-of-life care, giving the home just 72 hours to address some of its failings.
The Care Inspectorate warned it could move to shut Benvie Care Home down if changes were not made.
However, a later inspection found “significant improvements” had been made at the home, which was family-run at the time.
You can find the full inspection reports on the Care Inspectorate website.
- You can compare and monitor care home performance using The Courier’s care home tracker.
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