Care bosses label service ‘weak’ over management

A SHELTERED housing service for elderly people has been branded “weak” by care chiefs.

Bosses at the Care Inspectorate have issued several improvement requirements to Angus Council’s Supported Housing for Older People Service.

The service combines housing support and care at home for sheltered housing units in Forfar, Brechin and Montrose .

Last year, the service was rated “good” with a “very good” ranking in 2012.

However, this time around, management and leadership within the service was assessed as “weak” while its quality of care and support and quality of staffing were both deemed to be “adequate”, the second and third worst rankings respectively.

Inspectors found “significant inconsistencies” in how medicines were administered and stored.

The report said: “People could not be sure that their medication was being managed in a way that followed best practice guidance.

“We saw that there were significant inconsistencies in practice in how medicines were being received, stored, administered and disposed.

“We were also concerned to see that the staff skills, knowledge and competency had not been formally assessed for a significant period of time.

“The registered manager told us that there was a plan to undertake a review of how medicines were being managed.

“However, it was unclear when this would begin.”

The care watchdog said there was a lack of senior manager oversight over some delegated roles, adding: “This included the development and progression of action plans.”

Requirements issued i ncluded introducing more effective quality assurance systems, a greater standard of managing medication and better training for staff.

Despite the poor conclusion, the authors of the report spoke to 15 tenants of the sheltered housing complex who were happy with their service. Staff were said to have communicated with residents in a “respectful” and “friendly” manner during the inspection visit.

Concerns were raised about the food delivered to the complexes but it’s believed staff were addressing this.

Angus Council had not responded to requests for comment at the time of going to press.