A Dundee care home has been ordered to make further improvements after “unacceptable” levels of cleanliness were found by inspectors.
Dirty equipment and “soiled” mattresses were discovered by the Care Inspectorate at St Margaret’s Home over a three-day visit in May.
And while a follow-up inspection in June found there had been positive changes, the watchdog still found some bedrooms were not up to standard – with one described as “unacceptable”.
Some individual items of equipment at the Victoria Road home were also unclean at the second inspection.
Findings of initial inspection at St Margaret’s Home
The initial unannounced inspection branded the care home “weak” in all five areas examined.
Issues found at that time included:
- The home looked tired and grubby due to a lack of maintenance
- Soiled mattresses had been checked as OK
- Support bells were left ringing for long periods of time
- Staff were concerned there were not enough of them to support people living in the home
- Soiled equipment was stored next to clean equipment, providing an infection risk
- Hazardous cleaning materials, razors, prescribed medication and dirty laundry were all accessible to residents in the communal bathrooms
- There was limited evidence of staff induction or training – and particular concern was raised regarding dementia training
- The home was not led and managed in a way that met people’s health and wellbeing needs
However, the report stated staff were kind and caring to the residents.
Relatives also descried staff as “warm and friendly” with visiting always encouraged.
St Margaret’s Home follow-up inspection
A follow-up inspection on June 1 and 2 found there had been improvements to the home’s cleanliness.
The report stated that staff training had begun and shared bathrooms were found to be clean and clutter-free.
Mattresses were also found to be clean.
However, some issues with cleanliness remained with certain areas branded “unacceptable”.
The Care Inspectorate gave the home a deadline of June 20 to improve further.
The results of this inspection are yet to be released.
‘Significant results’ from changes at St Margaret’s Home
A spokesperson for St Margaret’s said: “St Margaret’s Home has put in place a process to ensure that sustainable changes in management and practise take place as quickly as possible.
“This process has now been under way for some weeks and we feel this has already achieved significant results.
“The home has had significant changes in staff and management over the past few months, so the management and staff team are being supported by suitably qualified and experienced consultants to manage this process.
“The wellbeing of our residents is always the primary concern of all at St Margaret’s Home and we are fully committed to do all that is required to ensure the quality of care meets the requirements of the Care Inspectorate and all other agencies.”
