Fresh probe at home branded country’s worst

INSPECTORS have returned to a children’s care home a year after it was branded the “worst in Scotland”, following a new complaint.

The Evening Times understands the complaint relates to an incident which saw seven people who were not residents of the children’s home try to gain access to the building.

When staff tried to prevent them, the situation escalated and police and a paramedic unit were called.

A resident living near Chapel House in Paisley complained to watchdog the Care Inspectorate, which launched an investigation.

A Care Inspectorate spokesman said: “We have received a complaint from a member of the public regarding incidents and disturbances at Chapel House in Paisley.

“The Care Inspectorate is currently investigating this complaint and, if upheld, the results will be published in due course.”

The Evening Times understands that following the incident, inspectors returned to the home, which is run by Renfrewshire Council.

Both the Care Inspectorate and Renfrewshire Council’s social work department have been keen to stress that Chapel House has improved since a damning report was published following inspections in September 2010.

The Care Inspectorate’s spokesman added: “When we inspected this service in 2010, we found a number of issues that gave us serious concerns about the quality of care being provided to young people.

“As a result we awarded Chapel House grades of ‘unsatisfactory’ and ‘weak’ and made a number of requirements for the service to make in order to improve the standards of care it provided.

“Since then, we have carried out two further inspections and have been satisfied that these requirements have been met and that standards are improving.

“We have re-graded the service to grades of ‘good’ in every quality theme and will be carrying out a follow-up inspection in due course to check that these improvements are being maintained and that children and young people continue to receive acceptable care and support.”

A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “There has been an incident in the vicinity of Chapel House.

“The incident also involved members of the public from the wider community.

“The incident was not related to staffing levels or the standard of care provided at the unit and there are no issues at Chapel House with either staffing levels or care.

“We intend to speak to local residents about any concerns they have in relation to the unit.”