A Bannockburn care home where 16 people died after a Covid outbreak has been scored ‘weak’ for care and support during the pandemic.
Fairview Care Home, located in Cowie Road, was graded low in a number of categories in a report compiled by the Care Inspectorate following a two-day unannounced inspection which was completed on July 27 this year.
In the report, the home was deemed to be weak in how it supports people’s wellbeing, its leadership and its care and support during the Covid pandemic. The facility’s setting was deemed as adequate.
In April this year, the Observer told how Fairview recorded a total of 16 fatalities as a result of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
The Care Inspectorate report, inspectors said: “Staff and visitor’s Covid-19 testing was taking place in line with current guidance. The service was visibly clean and tidy. The communal areas around the home were adapted to promote social distancing. We saw good supplies of the correct type of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and was stored correctly. Wall mounted Alcohol Based Hand Rub (ABHR) dispensers were available, however the location of some dispensers needed improved. We informed the deputy manager who quickly acted on this.
“We spoke with staff who were aware of current guidelines and we observed some good examples of practice. Managers reported an increase in domestic hours and new staff were appointed. However we observed that no domestic staff were on site after 2pm, which meant that care staff had to carry out cleaning duties. This meant care staff had less time to spend with people.
“Staff looked very busy at times. Many people we spoke with told us ‘staff are very busy’ and ‘when I press this buzzer I could be waiting a while’.
“The service relied heavily on agency staff due to the level of nursing and care vacancies. Staff told us that the 12 hour shift rota had changed from 8am-8pm to 7am-7pm, which meant that there were not enough staff in the early evening to support people’s care needs. We spoke with the management team who agreed with our findings and will address the shift pattern.”
Inspectors also reported that a high number of residents had suffered falls at the home, many of which were unwitnessed, and said that they concluded that staffing arrangements did ‘not always fully meet the needs of people receiving care in the service’ and added that the provider, HC One, must ensure there are sufficient staff to be certain of the best care outcomes for people.
The home was also ranked as weak in how well it supports people’s wellbeing. Inspectors added: “Staff knew people well and worked hard to try and meet their care needs. We found that there were very limited opportunities for meaningful engagement with people and how people spent their day in a meaningful manner. Staff that we spoke with indicated their days were very busy undertaking practical tasks leaving little or no time to spend with residents.”
Inspectors also noted that the care home management team had experienced “a number of changes in the months before this inspection” and that the new deputy manager had only been in post for a short time and while staff said that they could see improvements ‘there had not been enough time for the new deputy manager to make significant sustainable improvements’ at the time of the inspection.
Inspectors noted that there was no clear induction, support or training plan in place for the new deputy manager and because of the number of unfilled nurse vacancies in the service, the management team needed to provide cover for these vacancies in each unit so that staff had leadership and co-ordination.
However, this meant that the management team were unable to maintain an overview of the service.
Inspectors also detailed that, whilst the facility “appeared to be clean and tidy”, it was in need of refurbishment in order to “improve the experience of people living in the care home”.
