‘Weak’ inspection findings at Church of Scotland run Cameron House care home in Inverness spark string of improvement recommendations from Scotland’s Care Inspectorate
A church-run care home has promised to act swiftly after being ordered to make improvements following an inspection that rated it as “weak” in several areas.
Cameron House, a care home located in Culduthel Road, Inverness, scored a two - or “weak” - in four out of five key areas during an unannounced inspection by the Care Inspectorate last month.
The scoring scale runs from one, or “unsatisfactory”, to six, meaning “excellent”.
The site, which is run by the Church of Scotland through its CrossReach care service, looks after 30 residents.
The care home received its weak evaluations in the areas "how well do we support people's wellbeing", "how good is our leadership", "how good is our staff team", and "how well is our care and support planned".
It received a three, meaning “adequate”, in the area "how good is our setting".
In their report, inspectors stressed that despite the lower scores the site did have “identifiable strengths too”, but that “these were significantly compromised” by the “important weaknesses” they had noted.
They said: “We saw examples of kind and sensitive care and support provided with warmth and affection.
“Staffing levels and skill mix were not sufficient and people's basic care needs were not always being met.
“Opportunities for meaningful activity and interaction with staff was limited.
“Key areas of practice such as supporting people with stress and distress needed to improve.
“Food was not always suitable and people did not always receive the right support to help them to eat and drink.
“People's care plans did not accurately reflect the care and support they needed.
“Management oversight and governance, including quality assurance processes needed to improve.”
Following the findings, inspectors have given the home until October 30 or November 30 to make a number of changes or improvements.
Requirements by October 30 include the need for the provider to “ensure safe management and administration of medication” in response to concerns over “medication management and recording systems”, and “that people are supported at all times by sufficient numbers of suitably skilled staff to meet their health, safety and wellbeing needs”. The latter requirement was in response to inspectors seeing fewer staff than planned on rotas in July and August, and a failure to consider the skill levels of the various staff mixes when drawing up rotas.
They noted: “Staff did not always respond appropriately to people calling out with signs of stress and distress. We saw that people were left on their own for much of the time and some expressed boredom. We observed many residents sitting at dining tables or walking aimlessly around with no interactions due to limited staffing.”
By November 30, improvements needed include work to ensure that “people’s health, welfare and safety are promoted and protected”, that “people’s health and wellbeing is promoted and people have sufficient nutrition to meet their needs”, and provide “effective governance at service level to; monitor and manage quality of care, oversee and provide guidance to management and staff, and effectively identify and drive improvements in the service”. They are also being asked to “ensure that service users experience safe and compassionate care and treatment that meets their health, safety and wellbeing needs and preferences”.
Responding to the report, Allan Logan, the Director of Older People Services at CrossReach, the operating name of the Social Care Council of the Church of Scotland said: “The safety and well-being of our residents is always our primary concern and as such we continually strive to reach the highest standards of care.
“Where issues have been identified, we will remedy these as a matter of urgency.
“An action plan has been developed and is now underway.
“We are confident that this will allow us to meet the requirements of the report within the timeframe given.”
