The Care Inspectorate has branded an Aberdeen care service as “unsatisfactory”, ruling people were “not being treated with respect, dignity, and compassion”.
Able Care @ Home, which is based on the city’s Mearns Street, had been graded as either “good” or “adequate” following both of its previous inspections.
But following an unannounced visit in the middle of February, inspectors gave the company’s services the lowest ranking on their six-point scale.
They said relatives had told them new staff often started with no training, and found that a lack of effective communication with staff left people “very frustrated and distressed”.
‘Agitated, angry and distressed’
The Care Inspectorate report said: “We reviewed a video recording of the care provided within someone’s own home.
“The person was clearly not comfortable, and staff failed to identify the issues and left a person in a distressed state and shouting for help.
“Staff were seen chatting outside a person’s bedroom where they could not be seen but the person heard them.
“As a result, the person became more agitated, angry and distressed.
“Staff failed to show dignity and respect by the manner in which they spoke to this person and by their actions.”
A family member is quoted as saying: “When her own carers both arrive it’s great, but it’s like firefighting with all the different carers.
“Some of the carers don’t know mum and can be ‘not as gentle’.”
Coronavirus criticism
The company was also criticised for a lack of compliance with methods of keeping infections under control during the Covid pandemic.
The report said: “Staff were seen wearing PPE over outdoor clothes, providing care while wearing jackets and hats, not handwashing, and moving from one area of the person’s home to another while wearing the same gloves and aprons.
“As a result, there was an increased risk of cross infection.”
In a statement, the Able Care @ Home management team said the report followed “the complicated and often relentless issues that the Covid pandemic flooded us with”.
They said: “In hindsight, our fast track training and administration was not up to our usual high quality standards but we ensured that staff were always available to render care and we can happily confirm that we did not suffer any Covid-related deaths during the pandemic.
“All staff were given training, the majority of it online because of Covid, and always given shadow visits and introduced to the service user.
“The care report has correctly identified aspects that need improving and we are as much disappointed with the reports findings as I am sure our service users will be, however we immediately initiated the rectification process to come back into line with our previous high and positive ratings.”
They added that checks and measures had been put in place, and they “look forward” to a positive report “within the next few months”.
