Dumbarton care home criticised

Nov 11 2011 by kbarrSUN, Lennox Herald (main ed)

CARE inspectors found mould on the walls, peeling plaster and bins overflowing with incontinence pads at a council-run care home.

Willox Park in Dumbarton underwent a spot check by the Care Inspectorate in September and was graded as “weak” both for its environment and the quality of care and support.

Mount Pleasant House in Old Kilpatrick – which is also owned by West Dunbartonshire Council – was assessed as weak for care and support and for staffing, while Dalreoch House in Dumbarton was graded adequate but was told to address a number of issues including staffing.

Council chiefs insist that they have responded swiftly by submitting detailed action plans to the Care Inspectorate to address these failures.

An unannounced inspection was carried out at Willox Park in September when representatives from the watchdog found mould in bedrooms and also discovered leaking showers.

A report on the inspectorate’s website states: “The raised lip of the showers had also been removed to make access easier for residents, but this had resulted in water flowing towards the corridor.

“Areas of peeling plaster, staining from water penetration and mould must be addressed in the affected corridors and bedrooms.

“Although we saw that standards of cleanliness were satisfactory overall, there were areas where improvements were needed, like high dusting to remove cobwebs.

“The waste bins were seen to be full up on the first day of inspection and we observed that staff were not wrapping incontinence pads in the disposal bags provided before placing them in the bin.

“Despite the bins being full they were not replaced until the second day of inspection which was two days later.”

It was also found that improvements were needed in relation to staffing arrangements, the activities programme, and residents’ personal plans.

The report called for staffing levels to be reviewed and concerns from residents and relatives addressed about the lack of one to one time staff spend with each individual – the service was aiming to spend two hours a month on one-to-one time which the inspector stated was “not sufficient”.

Mount Pleasant House was inspected in August and the official found that personal plans did not reflect the involvement of residents or their relatives in discussions about care and support needs and personal choices.

The report states: “We observed staff to be very busy and confirmed that they were not able to spend much one-to-one time with residents or provide a satisfactory level of meaningful activities during the day.

“We saw that residents were sitting for long periods of time without being engaged in meaningful activity that promoted physical and mental stimulation.

“There were also gaps in some of the medication administration records we looked at. This meant staff had not always signed for medicines they had given or recorded the relevant code where this had not been administered.

“Staff told us that the dependency needs of residents had increased and that staffing levels were not always sufficient.”

Inspectors detailed six requirements to be addressed at Dalreoch House including a review of staffing levels which must be submitted to the Care Inspectorate.

All three homes are managed by the West Dunbartonshire Community Health and Care Partnership on behalf of the council.

A report set to go before the CHCP next Wednesday states that action plans detailing what will be done to rectify any issues and the timescales in which this will be completed have been submitted to the Care Inspectorate.

The partnership will also discuss two privately-run care homes which have received a weak grading. Castleview in Dumbarton was rated on staffing and Clyde Court in Clydebank was awarded two weak gradings for care and support and staffing.