Care home rated weak by inspectors
Second poor report for Redmill within a month
A West Lothian care home where there were 17 deaths linked to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the autumn has again been rated “weak” by inspectors.
Redmill Care Home in East Whitburn, run by HC-One, got the rating following an inspection conducted by the Care Inspectorate over four days, on October 21, 22, 27 and 28.
And a further inspection report to Scottish Parliament after two visits on November 19 found that while “progress had been made” in all the areas required, more improvements are needed to change the “weak” evaluations.
The latest report says the care home was cleaner and that maintenance work had started to improve infection prevention and control, that staff practices had improved and PPE stations were easily accessible to staff.
And it said while there was enough members of staff to care for residents, processes used to determine the number of staff required and to provide the right support for residents needed to be improved to allow better deployment of workers.
The report concluded: “Further work was needed on all the above areas to fully meet the improvements required. We have extended the time for these to be completed.
“We informed West Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership of our findings. We did not amend the evaluations of the service because there were still some improvements required.”
The home is still classed as “weak” for categories including infection prevention and control practices, staffing arrangements and people’s health and wellbeing.
A HC-One spokesperson stressed Redmill has been free of Covid-19 since November 16 and there are currently no positive cases among staff or residents
She continued: “We are deeply sorry that the home had previously fallen short of the standards we want and that residents and their loved ones rightly expect. We continue to work exceptionally hard to make and sustain improvements which go above and beyond the Care Inspectorate’s feedback.
“However, we are disappointed that the most recent report, from an inspection which took place immediately after the outbreak at the home, does not reflect the full scale of progress that has been made.
“Following the Care Inspectorate’s previous visits, immediate and significant improvements were made and were noted by the Inspectorate.
“We will always prioritise the health and wellbeing of our residents and strive to provide the very best care.
“Colleagues from our senior area team are providing oversight and additional support as the home continues to implement its action plan to ensure a high standard is achieved and maintained at the home, and we will not rest until this has been attained.”
A spokesperson for the West Lothian Health and Social Care partnership added: “The care home is privately owned and the owners are working with the Care Inspectorate to address the improvements that are required and highlighted in the report.
“The WL HSCP is providing the care home owners with advice and support to assist them in making necessary improvements.”