Care home slammed after latest damning inspectorate report

A LEADING Scottish charity has slammed the owners of a Hawick care home. The fourth in a series of damning inspection reports has been issued for St Andrew’s Care Home, owned by Park Homes, which has been plagued with issues for more than a year.

The home has been rated ‘weak’ by the Care Inspectorate in at least two out of four areas in the last four inspection reports, the latest published this month.

A spokesperson for Age Scotland said: “This simply isn’t good enough. We’re pleased to see the Care Inspectorate putting the spotlight on an unacceptable level of service, and Park Homes should be mindful that it has the powers to close down services where necessary.”

At the most recent inspection, representatives of the Care Inspectorate found that of 11 requirements made in November just three had been fully met.

Of the eight not met, two were meant to have been carried out with immediate effect, and another two within a week of receipt of the November report.

Despite acknowledging some progress in their latest report, the general lack of improvement prompted inspectors to rate the home ‘weak’ in two areas and only ‘adequate’ in the other two.

In just over a year, the home has been inspected four times and has received two ‘unsatisfactory’ ratings, the lowest possible, eight ‘weak’, four ‘adequate’ and two ‘good’.

After the last visit, inspectors made eight requirements and five recommendations, many repeated from November, aimed at providing specific areas for further improvements.

These included the need for incidents to be reviewed by senior staff and improvements made to the state of repair of both the building and facilities.

Inspectors also wanted to see improved staff levels and snacks and drinks available throughout the day for residents, including fresh fruit, which inspectors found was not provided outwith meal times.

A spokesman for Park Homes said: “All of the areas identified for improvement have been addressed and continue to be monitored by our management team.”