Care unit gets clean bill of health

A children’s care unit has been handed a positive report from the Care Inspectorate.

Foxhill Cottage, in Stair, was rated ‘very good’ and ‘good’ across several quality indicators.

The service cares for five young people aged between 10 and 20, while the nearby Chestnut Cottage provides accommodation for a further one young person.

The service is provided by Spark of Genius (Training) Ltd and operates a 24-hour service, 52 weeks of the year.

Some of the highlights of the Care Inspectorate report said the young people were very well cared for, very settled and happy within the house. There were very meaningful and secure relationships between young people and staff as well. Management of medication had improved since the last inspection and young people experienced a “varied and healthy diet”.

The report noted that young people engaged in physical activities. And when they needed support in the midst of crisis, the report found low levels of restraint being used.

Among the areas of improvements, the Care Inspectorate has asked that, following incidents, debriefs “should always occur” and “should involve the young person,” because it should lead to actions “focused on improving how young people are cared” for “when they are finding things difficult.”

Leadership and the setting of the house were rated as ‘very good’ while planned care, staff levels and supporting young people’s wellbeing were all rated ‘good.’

One concern was that some key members of staff were leaving the home.

The Care Inspectorate said: “The service needs to continue recruiting high quality people on a rolling basis to ensure that the young people continue to have their needs fully met by people with the rights skills, values and expertise.”