Care home ordered to shape up or shut down
A PRIVATELY-RUN care home in West Lothian is facing closure after failing to address "serious" breaches in standards following an inspection by health officials.
Southern Cross Home Care Properties Ltd, the owners of Redmill Nursing Home in Lady Court, East Whitburn, have been ordered to improve the standard of care it provides to its elderly residents or have its registration withdrawn by the Care Commission following two inspections this year in January and July when "serious concerns" were raised.
Scotland's care watchdog has now issued an Improvement Notice to the company to clean up its act after the issues it found in the first inspection weren't dealt with.
Two complaints this year by relatives of people living in Redmill have been upheld in relation to personal care and staff not administering wound dressings and prescription drugs correctly.
A third complaint was also partially upheld in April 2008.
Residents in the home, which houses 70 elderly people, can pay up to and more than 500 a month to stay there, but relatives have voiced concerns over their loved ones' safety and feeding as well as staffing levels.
A damning report, which was published by the Care Commission yesterday from July's inspection, has found that the quality of care, support, environment and staffing was "unsatisfactory" - the lowest of six grades on the commission's scale.
The quality of management and leadership was graded as "weak" - the second lowest grade.
In its conclusions, the Care Commission said: "The provider must take steps to ensure the safety and security of residents and their belongings.
"The findings from this inspection gave us concerns that residents' safety and wellbeing were not being met."
The watchdog says unless "significant" improvements are made at Redmill in regards to personal care for residents (clients) - including nutritional care, the administration of medicines and staff training procedures, Southern Cross could lose its registration to operate the home.
New admissions into the home have also been banned until all the improvements are made, but a deadline for this has been set at the end of January 2011, which could put pressure on other homes in West Lothian if more elderly people need placed.
A spokesman for the Care Commission said: "The Care Commission has had serious concerns about the standard of care being provided to people living at Redmill Nursing Home for some time.
"Following our most recent inspection of the home we have taken enforcement action against its service provider, Southern Cross Home Properties Limited.
"We have issued an improvement Notice which requires that the service carries out important improvements including a range of issues regarding the care of people living in the home."
The Improvement Notice demands that:
Weight loss in residents is recorded within Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) guidance.
Medication is only given to the people it is prescribed for.
Qualified and competent staff administer medication wound dressings.
Pain assessments must be carried out.
A staff training programme is carried out.
Maxine Beveridge, Southern Cross Healthcare area manager, said the company had identified a "number of key areas" which require improvement and were working with the Care Commission to bring these into line.
She added: "Our residents are our number one priority and we are committed to providing them with a quality of care and environment that we, as a company, pride ourselves on.
"We have carried out a comprehensive audit of process at the home and measures have already been put in place to deal with the issues raised.
"A detailed action plan has also been submitted to the Care Commission, outlining our practices going forward."
The company, the largest provider of care homes in the UK, is also under investigation, including one by police, following a series of deaths at facilities in England and has been prosecuted five times over the last seven years for deaths and safety failings.
Gordon Beurskens issued a comment on behalf of the Action To Save St John's Hospital councillors.
He said: "This is an extremely worrying situation for the families of the residents. Our elderly community deserve the highest standards of care.
"It is concerning that Southern Cross Healthcare have recently made the headlines in England as a result of deaths linked to systemic failures in their services.
"I commend the Care Commission for acting decisively in taking positive steps to ensure the very necessary improvements.
"Current council proposals through the Tough Choices debate include the closure of Whitdale House, just along the road.
"It seems quizzical that we should be looking to close a council-run facility with an unblemished reputation, to place further reliance on a private sector that clearly has its problems. That is simply a nonsense."
The Care Commission has organised a meeting at the home next Thursday for relatives and residents to voice their opinions.
A spokesman for West Lothian Council said: "We are working with the Care Commission and NHS to ensure the improvements are addressed."
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