COVID practices‘unsatisfactory’at nursery
Staff at a Perth nursery have said they are working hard to address “serious concerns” raised by inspectors relating to their efforts to reduce the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak.
Inspectors working for the Care Inspectorate said the standard of handwashing they observed at Four Seasons Nursery was “unsatisfactory” when they visited the West Mains Avenue facility in November last year.
They said in their report: “Hand hygiene practices were seen to be unsatisfactory and not carried out in line with COVID-19 guidance. Concerns were also identified regarding staff putting on and removing face coverings.
“Whilst the manager addressed this during the inspection, continued improvements must be made to ensure robust measures are in place and carried out effectively by all staff to reduce the risk of cross infection.”
The same inspectors also judged cleaning schedules maintained by nursery workers to be “ineffective” when they visited the facility last November and said they would have to be reviewed in order to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.
Their report said: “Cleaning schedules were ineffective and not completed by staff. These must be reviewed and updated to ensure they reflect the enhanced cleaning practices outlined in the COVID-19 guidance.
It added: “We identified significant concerns with staff knowledge and understanding of infection prevention and control practices and current COVID-19 guidance.
“Some staff had attended an in-house information session on basic infection prevention and control practices, however, we saw no positive impact of this reflected in staff practice. ”
A spokesperson for Four Seasons Nursery told the PA yesterday: “Since inspection last November we have worked hard to address the issues raised by the findings.
“The Care Inspectorate is satisfied with the improvements we have made to date and the measures we have put in place.”