Care home ordered to improve or face closure
● Concerns over residents’ health, safety and hygiene
A care home for old people has been ordered to make urgent improvements or face having its registration cancelled.
The Care Inspectorate has served a formal improvement notice on Livingston Care Home after an inspection raised serious concerns.
Staff at the West Lothian home have been ordered to ensure that residents’ personal hygiene needs are met and they are given help to bathe and/or shower regularly and have their teeth brushed twice a day.
The home, which is run by Four Seasons Health Care, has also been told to make sure there are “suitably qualified and competent persons” working at all times to meet residents’ health, wellbeing and safety needs. The notice lists seven areas that need urgent improvement.
The Care Inspectorate said: “The quality of care experienced by residents at this home is not good enough to meet individual needs.
“Theimprovementnoticewe have issued clearly lays out the improvements we must see so that the care experienced by residents improves quickly.
“We will visit this care home again soon to check on progress and if we are not satisfied that the matters raised are being addressed urgently we will not hesitate to take further action.
“Everyone in Scotland has the right to safe, compassionate care which meets their needs and respects their rights.”
The notice warns that, unless there is “significant improvement” by 1 December, the inspectorate will make a proposal to cancel the home’s registration.
It also orders the home to ensure that residents receive the food and fluids they require to meet their needs.
Inspectors said the home should put in place consistent, good quality and effective management and leadership to guide and direct staff and improve the quality of care being delivered. Staff must record any accidents appropriately and ensure that appropriate authorities, including the inspectorate, are notified.
Four Seasons Health Care said: “We understand the areas in which we must urgently improve and have been implementing a comprehensive action plan to ensure changes are made. We remain committed to reaching a higher standard as soon as is feasible.”