Home   News   Article

NHS Highland ordered to make improvements to Sutherland Care-at-Home Service after inspection flags ‘significant concerns





NHS Highland has been told to make improvements to the service by early August. Stock image.
NHS Highland has been told to make improvements to the service by early August. Stock image.

Enforcement action has been taken against an NHS-run care at home service after "significant concerns" were identified during a surprise inspection.

Three inspectors from the Care Inspectorate have ordered a number of improvements for the Sutherland Care at Home Service after it scored the lowest possible rating in three out of four areas - and the second lowest rating in the fourth.

The service, which has two teams covering east Sutherland and north & west Sutherland, was rated as "unsatisfactory” for its support of people's wellbeing, its leadership, and staff team.

And it was rated weak for the planning of its care and support.

The inspection follows an earlier visit that called for improvements by May.

Issuing their findings, inspectors said the number of staff vacancies within the service was impacting on NHS Highland's ability to deliver it, noting that it had experienced “significant levels of staff turnover and absence”.

They added that "staff felt unsupported in their roles", and that there were also concerns about "missed visits and medication management, which put people at risk of harm".

Indeed, the inspectors found that despite staff being flexible and working extra hours to try to ensure people’s needs were met, this had had a negative impact on the team’s wellbeing and morale. So much so, that when asked if they felt “well supported and confident in carrying out their role” every single staff member who responded had either disagreed or strongly disagreed.

The inspectors also raised concerns that support plans "did not accurately reflect people's needs and outcomes", and also said that further staff training and development was required.

The inspection report said: “We had significant concerns about the care and support that was being provided to people who were accessing this service.

“We found evidence that people did not always receive their medication, or treatment at the correct time, and on occasions had no support at all. We observed staff not administering medication correctly.

“We found evidence of missed medication visits which should have been reported to the Care Inspectorate and reported as adult protection concerns due to the risk of harm to people. This meant that people were not receiving the appropriate care and support and were at risk of harm.”

They also criticised a “lack of robust communication pathways for staff to escalate concerns and limited resources to respond appropriately across the service”.

And added that staff had provided examples where concerns they had raised had not been acted upon.

One staff member, who the report did not name, told the inspectors: “I have voiced the fact (numerous e-mails and texts) that I struggle with the two runs merged into one. I end up doing both runs with not enough time to look after my clients' safely (missed medication, missed calls, missed reorder of medication etc), I feel neglected, and I feel my clients are too. It is becoming a very dangerous situation".

Staff also said it was difficult to access support during weekend shifts, with inspectors being told: "Weekends are a nightmare, much worse than during the week, which isn't great at the time. You never know who will come, when they will come, if they will come, and there really isn't anyone around to check with".

Publishing their findings, the inspectors ordered NHS Highland to carry out a range of improvements to the Sutherland Care at Home Service by August 6.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More