A Callander nursing home has been ranked ‘weak’ for Covid support following an unannounced inspection earlier this month.
Ashlea House in Bracklinn Road, received the rating for how it supported people’s wellbeing, its leadership and its care and support during the Covid pandemic.
The Care Inspectorate conducted the surprise visit on Friday, August 6.
In a report published afterwards they said there was also a “serious concern” over a lack of nurses.
Inspectors said: “Our focus in this inspection area was to establish if the staff team had the right competence, knowledge, and skills to support people in relation to Covid-19.
“We concluded that the service was performing at a weak level with some important priority areas to improve.”
During the inspection, watchdogs spoke with 13 of the 18 residents in the home, seven of whom were willing to express their views. They also spoke to one relative.
When it came to how well the home supports people’s wellbeing, the inspectors said: “We concluded, that this was weak with some important priority areas to improve.”
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But they added: “Staff treated people with compassion, dignity and respect. There were kind and warm interactions from staff with the residents they were supporting. Residents spoke highly of the staff and how friendly they were.”
At a previous inspections, conducted on April 28 this year, inspectors raised concerns that there was not always a qualified nurse in the building. They relayed their fears to Mauricare Ascot Care Limited, the provider, and the Clackmannanshire and Stirling Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and made a requirement. A further review in May this year, inspectors were assured that a qualified nurse would always be on duty.
However, at the most recent inspection, inspectors identified serious concerns about there being no nurse available at times, including two concerning practices that could have put people at risk of harm. In the report, they added: “We issued a letter of serious concern to the provider on the first day of the inspection.
“We returned to the service to check urgent action had been taken. The requirement had been met. We have emphasised the importance of sustaining this requirement and have therefore, now included a further review date when we will follow this up further.”
When assessing leadership at the facility, the inspectors concluded that this was at a ‘weak’ level with some important priority areas to improve. They said: “The provider had made improvements to their quality assurance system, resulting in positive change since the last inspection. However, a few aspects still needed more focus. We discussed this with the manager and provider to look at the best ways to take this forward and ensure that improvements can be made and sustained.”
They also said that despite it being clear that the manager and residents had a positive relationship, because of the serious concerns over staffing levels, they felt that leadership in the home needed to address the issue.
Inspectors also evaluated the level of care and support during the pandemic. The inspectors evaluated infection control practices and found “several important strengths”.
They said: “The general environment was clean, tidy and free from any offensive odours. Domestic staff were very knowledgeable and aware of what cleaning products to use around the care home.
“We had no concerns about the level of domestic staff available each day. Arrangements were in place, to ensure that frequently touched surfaces like handrails and light switches were cleaned more than twice daily.”
Equipment throughout the home was clean with a ‘robust system’ in place to maintain this throughout the day and night.
PPE was readily available and staff wore appropriate PPE to keep residents safe and handwashing facilities and sanitiser were available throughout the home.
The inspectors reported: “In response to previous inspections, the training being offered to and attended by staff had improved. This meant that residents could be confident in the people who supported them because they were trained and competent in relation to infection, prevention and control. There had been a variety of other training within the service including, adult support and protection and dementia awareness. Training records showed an increase in specialised training being offered to staff about specific health needs, to support them to meet people’s care needs.
“However, in relation to other health and welfare issues mentioned there were serious concerns around lack of nurses. In a care home that provides nursing care, being able to respond to people’s health needs during an outbreak relies on access to a nurse.
“For this reason and related to the requirement in key question one, the provider needs to make priority improvements relating to staffing.”
A spokesperson for Ashlea House said: “The recent report confirms the progress made by Ashlea House and also highlights the ongoing challenges small care homes face in rural areas especially in the unprecedented time we live .
“Our search for qualified nurses and staffs continues whilst working closely with the regulator, health partnership and all supporting professionals in the area. We are thankful to our staff, relatives and our service users whose welfare remain our priority.”
