Kilmarnock nursing home rated among the worst in Scotland
SOCIAL work bosses have halted admissions to a Kilmarnock nursing home after standards of care were found to be among the worst in Scotland.
East Ayrshire Council no longer sends people to Crossgate Care Home in Onthank after a damning report by the Care Commission.
Inspectors who visited the privately-run Meiklewood Road residential unit – which has specialist units for dementia sufferers and those with mental illness – were shocked to find:
la worrying number of unobserved falls due to residents wandering around on their own
lthe privacy and dignity of individuals was not always maintained
lservice users with poor hygiene walking around with their needs not being attended to
lthe ethos of respect was weak
lpoor infection controls with staff changing and handling soiled clothing and bedding without appropriate protective clothing
lno lids on a number of soiled waste bins
lmedicine store rooms frequently above the minimum temperature
The inspectors also had to physically intervene on two occasions to help residents who were trying to ‘mobilise and undress’ without staff being present.
Worryingly, some aspects of the failings had been identified in previous inspection visits, but proper action hadn’t been taken as a result. Despite the many faults identified at Crossgate, quality of management and leadership was adjudged to be ‘good’. And staff also received praise for being ‘kind and considerate’.
But quality of care and support received the lowest possible rating of ‘unsatisfactory’; the quality of staffing was rated as ‘weak’; and the quality of environment was graded as ‘adequate’.
The report – published in September last year – led to EAC halting new admissions to Crossgate and ordering care reviews for those already there.
Eddie Fraser, head of community care at EAC, said: “Crossgate Care Centre is one of a number of independent care home providers from which the council purchases care home placements.
“All care homes are registered with the Care Commission and as such are subject to regular inspections. The council received notification of the Care Commission’s most recent inspection of Crossgate Care Centre, which resulted in an unsatisfactory grading in respect of the quality of care and support provided. As a consequence of this inspection report, the council has taken appropriate action to safeguard the wellbeing of our older people by placing a moratorium on admissions to Crossgate Care Centre and arranging for care reviews to be undertaken for all East Ayrshire service users resident in the care home.
“The care of our most vulnerable residents is extremely important to the council and we will do everything we can to ensure that our service users are treated appropriately, in a safe environment. We will await
notification from the Care Commission regarding improvements in the Centre, before any consideration is given to lifting the moratorium and the care of our residents will be closely monitored in the interim.”
Crossgate was established in September 2007 by England-based Southern Cross Healthcare.
Marchia Stewart, area manager for the company, said:
“We have identified a number of key areas at Crossgate Care Home that require improvement and are working closely with the Care Commission and local authority to bring them to our usual high standards. The welfare of our residents is our upmost priority and, as a company, we are committed to delivering quality care. We have already implemented a comprehensive improvement programme to rectify these issues, which we will review on an ongoing basis to ensure results are delivered efficiently and effectively.”
