Weak Care Inspectorate report for South Beach House

However, the operators of South Beach House, CrossReach, say that improvements have already been made since the Care Inspectorate branded parts of the service 'weak' in a report published this month.

It follows an unannounced visit by the watchdog to the premises back in September, which was carried out over four days.

After speaking to staff, management, service users and their family - as well as observing general practices - five areas of the care home were evaluated. Each area is rated on a scale from one, being the lowest, to six, being the highest.

Of inspected areas at South Beach House, three - supporting people's wellbeing, staff team and planning - were rated '3 - adequate' and two - leadership and setting - as '2 - weak'.

Areas were deemed weak by inspectors as some strengths were identified but these were compromised by significant weaknesses.

Referring to leadership at the care home, the report states a number of findings which led to this conclusion.

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Despite a clear vision for the service, and staff feeling supported, a number of concerns were raised.

The report states: "The management team needed to make improvements to quality assurance processes in several important areas of practice.

"Staff understood the concept of collective leadership, which is that everyone working in the home should take responsibility and feel accountable for their practice.

"However, despite this awareness, we found that there was insufficient or ineffective leadership being built at all levels.

"Leaders should intervene at the earliest opportunity to ensure that people experience high quality care and support."

Feedback on staff was positive, though issues were highlighted with regards to agency staff within the home.

A resident commented: "I feel like most staff know what they're doing. There is some agency staff that I feel don't know me well enough to care for me."

Record keeping was also highlighted as an area which needed to be addressed at South Beach House.

Additionally, despite finding that the home's communal areas were "clean and tidy" further concerns were raised with regards to the setting at South Beach House.

The report added: "Some people commented on a lack of choice of quieter communal spaces. Several people said that the main lounge was often very busy and loud.

"The ongoing maintenance and cleanliness of people's environment needed to be improved. The provider had an ongoing plan for refurbishment and environmental improvements.

"However, when we looked at people's bedrooms, we found that these plans were not sufficiently effective and that the planned completion dates for some of the work did not reflect the urgency of the necessary improvements.

"This meant that in some cases people's personal environment was poorly maintained, damaged, and untidy.

"Some of the issues, like a lack of appropriate storage space for personal toiletries, topical medications and poorly maintained furniture could be found throughout the service."

Further issue was noted with regards to the garden area within the premises.

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Despite the concerns raised, the Care Inspectorate noted a number of positive aspects from their visit.

They said: "Staff developed meaningful relationships with people and created a warm and compassionate atmosphere.

"Staff knew each resident well and we observed compassionate, warm, and supportive interactions.

"The majority of people we spoke to were happy with their experience of care in the home.

"We were encouraged by what staff told us and found that they had strong values and a positive and caring attitude towards the residents."

As a result of the overall findings of the report, South Beach House were set requirements and areas for improvement by the Care Inspectorate.

They tasked the home with meeting a number of these requirements by this month with CrossReach stating the watchdog has returned since the previous report was published and have been pleased with the improvements made.

A spokesman for CrossReach said: “Steps have now been taken to address the concerns noted at South Beach House earlier this year.

“The Care Inspectorate have revisited the service and are pleased with the improvements.

“We are now awaiting confirmation of an uplift in quality grades.”