Council-run care home must make urgent improvements

A care home has been ordered to make urgent improvements after an inspection raised “serious concerns”.

The Care Inspectorate has issued a formal improvement notice to Drumbrae Care Home in Edinburgh, calling for changes to be made by February 28 to avoid being struck from the register.

Among the five areas listed where urgent improvements are needed are having enough trained and competent staff working at all times and putting in place “safe and effective” arrangements for providing medication.

The Edinburgh City Council-run home has also been ordered to record and follow all instructions given by external health care professionals.

Further improvements include ensuring the care of residents is planned and delivered with “compassion, dignity and respect” and making sure staff are appropriately trained, particularly in moving people and using equipment to do so.

A Care Inspectorate spokesman said: “The improvement notice we 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.”

Age Scotland said it was “deeply concerning” to see the care home issued with a formal improvement notice.

Brian Sloan, chief executive of the charity, said: “Two reports in the last two years have highlighted serious weaknesses at Drumbrae. These should have been a wake-up call for managers and staff to urgently put improvements in place.

“It’s worrying to hear that older, vulnerable residents are not having their dignity and choices respected. Poor medication management and record keeping as well as a lack of staff training could be putting them at risk.

“We know the care sector is under a lot of strain, but there’s no excuse for poor quality care. Every older person deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and to receive appropriate, compassionate care.”

A spokeswoman for the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership (HPSC) said: “We take the care, safety and support of our care home residents very seriously.

“Work is ongoing with the Care Inspectorate to make sure Drumbrae Care Home is safe and comfortable and that we deliver the improvements required by the improvement notice.

“We took immediate action following feedback from our inspection in December, a highly experienced and long-standing care home manager from within the partnership has been put in place to oversee this work and monitor progress being made and they are being supported by the HSPC’s senior management to drive the improvement we need to see.”