Inspectors call for improvements at care home rated as ‘weak’

Inspectors have criticised a Perthshire care home, raising “significant concerns” about patients’ safety.

Ashdene Court in Crieff has been told to make a series of improvements following an assessment by the Scottish Government’s Care Inspectorate.

The Ferntower Road home provides residential care for up to 24 older people with dementia, as well as respite and short breaks.

The findings of last year’s unannounced visit have revealed “weak” ratings for quality of care and support, as well as for quality of management and leadership, while Ashdene’s environment and staffing were found to be “adequate”.

A Care Inspectorate spokeswoman said the new manager had worked hard to make improvements, adding: “A lot of work had been done to increase the information in people’s support plans.”

However, she said improvements to how the service manages people’s pain were still needed.

“We were concerned about the lack of awareness of how this can impact on people’s behaviour,” she added.

“A person’s support plan recorded numerous times that they were in pain, but this had not been acted on quickly enough. This caused unacceptable delay and extended the time the person was in pain and discomfort.”

There were also “significant concerns” over how the service keeps people safe. “A number of incidents had occurred over a period of months which should have been reported to the local authority... but were not,” the spokeswoman said.

No one at service provider Ashdene Management Services would comment on the report.

Picture: Steve MacDougall. Inspectors have raised concerns about some aspects of the way Ashdene Court is being run.