Care at home service told to improve by watchdog
A Livingston care-at-home service has been ordered to improve after a watchdog sent it a “serious concern” letter.
Established in 2021, All For You Services is based in the town but registered to operate in Edinburgh and the rest of the Lothians. Last September, it was issued with a series of requirements after failings were identified in record-keeping and medication management following a complaint about the service.
A follow-up visit by the Care Inspectorate in November found there had not been sufficient improvement – and the watchdog came to the same conclusion after carrying out yet another inspection on January 29. Just a week before the latest visit, inspectors sent the firm an urgent letter demanding access to required documents.
The company’s provision of care plans for its service users came under fire in a report published last Friday. Inspectors said they were “not sufficiently detailed” to inform how care should be carried out.
The report adds: “This meant that support was not always offered in a consistent manner. People we spoke with told us that they were involved in reviews of their care and support and spoke positively of the care and support they received.
“However, there were no notes available of care reviews or of agreed actions to be taken. This meant it was difficult to monitor the impact of the support provision.
“No training had been undertaken to highlight the importance of maintaining accurate records. Daily care records were, at times, basic and occasionally were not completed to detail what care and support had been delivered.
“This meant that people's representatives were not always aware if support had taken place.”
Concerns were also raised over the handling of service users’ medication, with a family member of one highlighting cases in which it had been missed.
The report continued: “No medication refresher training had been organised for staff. There continued to be missing records in relation to medication administration with no indication or explanation for this.
“One relative told us of their concerns regarding times where there had been missed medication. This meant that there is a serious risk to people’s health.”
Quality assurances procedures were also slammed. “Schedules of support were not always being effectively monitored by management,” the report states.
“There were visits which were not being logged as delivered and there was no available explanation of why this was the case. This meant there was a serious risk of missed visits, resulting in people not receiving vital support with personal care, meals and medication.
“The complaints folder had not been updated to include previous concerns.”
All For You Services was approached for comment.