A Dundee care home heavily criticised by inspectors has made improvements, but its standard of care remains weak.
The 60-bed Riverside View in Clovis Duveau Drive, operated by the troubled Southern Cross group, was given an “unsatisfactory” rating for the quality of its care and support in March.
Inspectors from official regulator SCSWIS also gave “weak” ratings to the home’s environment, staffing and management.
However, a recent follow-up visit has found that the manager and her staff have “responded promptly to the deficiencies” and are working well together.
The inspectors said, “The staff team were more involved in helping people to make decisions about their lives. The improvement in the environment was commented upon positively by service users, staff and relatives.”
SCSWIS has uprated all the home’s quality indicators, with care and support now off the bottom of the scale but still “weak” and environment, staffing and management all “adequate”.
There are still concerns.
The inspectors said, “This inspection has identified continued deficiencies in medication systems. The home must put in place reliable systems to ensure that prescribed drugs are always available in the home for dispensing to service users.
“Although we acknowledge that the home was in the process of redecoration and replacing old furniture, the service must continue with the development work to ensure the quality of care and the environment from which care is provided are brought up to an acceptable standard.”
Staff reported that, with a high turnover of employees, there was still a lot of further training needed. However, there has been an improvement in morale.
The inspectors said, “The home has focused on raising staff awareness of their responsibilities and accountability and offering further training in the areas where they had previously been graded as performing poorly or at an unacceptable level.
“Residents and relatives had commented positively on the improvements made in the home. The inspection found the service was moving forward in a more positive direction. However, this should be built upon and sustained.”
Southern Cross is the UK’s biggest care home provider, with almost 100 in Scotland and 31,000 residents. In severe financial difficulty, it has been forced to restructure by the 80 landlords who own the properties its operates.
This is expected to see a large number hived off to new operators, although no decisions are expected until the autumn.