A damning inspection report has cast new doubt over the future of one of Fife Council’s residential care homes after an apparent dip in standards.
An investigation is being carried out at Alan McLure House after the Care Commission described the quality of care and management at the Glenrothes home as “weak” following an unannounced inspection in early November.
The Courier understands that a number of staff have been suspended pending the findings of the local authority’s own probe into the situation, while the Care Commission confirmed on Tuesday that it plans to revisit the home as soon as possible to check on its progress.
The council has refused to confirm or deny just how many staff have been suspended, although an anonymous letter to The Courier claimed as many as 13 employees, including the home’s management team, have been suspended.
The report marks a sudden deterioration in standards at Alan McLure, given the fact that an unannounced inspection on February 18 and an announced inspection on July 22 gave the home ‘good’ or ‘very good’ ratings.
Those ratings were true following inspections in January, July and September 2009, but the latest inspection has concluded that requirements made at the time of the last inspection had not been met.
A commission spokesman said, “The Care Commission works rigorously to root out bad practice. We are aware of a number of recent issues concerning poor standards of care being provided for residents at Alan McLure House.
“Our last inspection report awarded the service grades of two (weak) and we demanded that the service provider immediately address these concerns to improve the standard of care being provided to residents and their families.”
He added, “The Care Commission has since met with senior management from Fife Council, who have provided us with an action plan with timescales and detailed information about how they are addressing these issues.
“We are working closely with the service provider to ensure these improvements are made, and will continue to monitor progress.”
Alan McLure House is one of 10 council-run homes which are being looked at during the local authority’s consultation into the future of residential care, which came to an end on Tuesday.
While two new care homes, one in Kirkcaldy and one in Dunfermline, are likely to be built to replace Appin House and Raith Gates in Kirkcaldy and Matthew Fyfe in Dunfermline, the council is considering its options in relation to the remaining seven, including Alan McLure House, with a view to replacing them “as and when suitable alternative provision becomes available.”Wellbeing ‘paramount’However, the prospect of homes being closed to save cash, with residents transferred to homes in the private or not-for-profit sector, has not yet been ruled out, with recommendations on the best way forward expected in the coming weeks.
According to inspectors, an action plan requested by the Care Commission to ensure the health and wellbeing of service users at Alan McLure House “did not reflect the urgency required,” while it noted there had been “extremely limited action” in response to concerns expressed by residents’ relatives.
While medication-ordering procedures had been amended and there was evidence of a speedy response when stocks were low, the Care Commission revealed it had since been notified of an incident that led to a resident being without one of their medications for a whole day.
Although it was noted staff recorded the maximum and minimum temperatures of stored medicines fully in 24 hours, as recommended by best practice, the report went on to reveal the minimum temperature was recorded as below the recommended level for around six weeks, with no action taken to rectify the situation.
Other criticisms suggested no training had been delivered or planned in response to concerns about caring for an epilepsy sufferer, while a care plan for another resident with epilepsy did not refer to their condition.
Rona Laing, head of older people’s services, confirmed there is an “ongoing investigation” at Alan McLure Home but said it would be “inappropriate” to provide further details at this time.
But she added, “The health and wellbeing of our residents is paramount and where our service falls short of the standards we expect, we take immediate action.
“We are in direct contact with families and are working with the Care Commission to ensure that standards are maintained and that staff provide the highest quality of care for residents.”
The Courier revealed towards the end of 2010 an elderly woman attending day care in March was given diluted cleaning fluid to drink after the container got mixed up with a juice bottle stored in the same cupboard.
She was taken to hospital for a check-up but did not require any medical treatment.
The home in Balbirnie Road provides 24-hour residential care and support for up to 40 older adults.