Inspectors call for urgent improvement at home for vulnerable adults in Falkirk
A care home in Falkirk must make urgent improvements in the care experienced by residents, inspectors have said.
The Care Inspectorate has served a formal Improvement Notice on Southfields care home following an inspection which raised serious concerns.
The care home provides care and support to young people and adults aged between 16 and 35 with learning disabilities.
The notice lists four areas which require urgent improvement.
These include ensuring that where the use of restraint is necessary, this is used appropriately and as a last resort to ensure the safety of people experiencing care.
Where a service users’ independence and choice is restricted, this should be justified, kept to a minimum and done sensitively.
In particular the notice says management and staff at the care home must make sure “no service user is subject to restraint unless this is the only practicable means of securing their welfare.”
They must also ensure the use of restraint is only used when necessary to prevent harm to the individuals and is the least restrictive option available.
Management must also ensure that any treatment or intervention service users experience is safe and effective and residents must be kept safe and protected from harm and abuse.
Service users must also experience individualised care and support which meets their individual needs.
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “The Improvement Notice we have issued clearly lays out the improvements we must see so that the care experienced by residents improves quickly.
“We will visit this care home again soon to check on progress and if we are not satisfied that the matters raised are being addressed urgently we will not hesitate to take further action.
A spokesperson for the care home, from owner Swanton Care, said: “We have already put in a place an action plan to address the concerns raised following this inspection, and we look forward to working with the Inspectorate in the weeks and months ahead to demonstrate the improvements that have been made and will continue to be made.
“Southfields is a well-established care home and we, alongside the staff and family members, are all very disappointed with this turn of events.
“As a group we are completely committed to the delivery of quality in all our care services and the safety and wellbeing of residents remains our utmost priority at all times.”
The improvement notice is available here: http://bit.ly/southfieldsimprovementnotice
Picture (c) Google Maps.
