The National Care Inspectorate has carried out a focused inspection at Taigh a' Chridhe Uile Naomh (TACUN) care home in South Uist to evaluate how well people were being supported during the Covid-
Inspectors made an unannounced visit to the 18-
A number of residents and staff in the care home were infected. One resident died was badly hit by the spread of
. They said the service to support residents health and wellbeing during the pandemic was at an adequate level . Key areas of performance require improvement.
In their assessment, inspectors highlighted the need to improve communication with people and their relatives to keep them up to date on the impact of Covid.
Relatives “spoke highly” of the care and support provided and were “very complimentary” about the way people were supported during the recent outbreak.
One family said their relative received “excellent care.” They wished to pass on their “gratitude (to staff) for their hard work and dedication."
A resident told her family how “loving” the carers are towards her.
Improvements are required in medication administration and recording practices said inspectors. They said regular medication audits to identify any errors or concerns were not taking place. Staff were not recording the outcome from the use of 'as and when required' medication which is necessary to help assess whether the medication is effective and so that further advice, care and support can be provided if required.
The home’s quality assurance system requires further development to effectively assess that the quality of care they provide meets the Health and Social Care Standards.
Inspectors found infection control practices were “good.” They highlighted there were a “number of important strengths which clearly outweighed areas for improvement.”
Staffing arrangements were also of a good standard. Staff were tested weekly for Covid-
A comhairle spokesperson said: “Our priority from the start of the outbreak, was to have a sufficiency of staff in place, staff with the right skill set and to have robust infection control measures to manage the risk of further transmission.
“The inspection report evidences that we succeeded in this respect and we appreciate the hard work and dedication of the staff working in TACUN who worked tirelessly to maintain high standards of infection control. The areas for improvement identified include improving our recording and quality assurance.
“All the areas identified will be addressed and we will get to work on this with immediate effect.”
The full report is available at: www.careinspectorate.com
Unannounced inspection of South Uist care home during virus outbreak
9 November 2020
