An Ayrshire-based charity care service for those with physical disabilities, learning difficulties and older people has been given the thumbs-up following an inspection.
Blackwood Care, St. Leonard’s Court Housing Support Service, was graded ‘very good’ across two quality indicators - the second highest grading possible.
The grading comes from the Care Inspectorate and follows a two-day inspection of the service.
Blackwood Care, St. Leonard’s Court, is part of a national not-for-profit charity organisation that provides support to people with physical disabilities, learning difficulties and older people.
Accommodation is provided on an “individual tenancy basis” with additional care and support hours for each individual person dependant on their assessed and agreed packages of care.
Support is provided to people living in their own homes and ranges from personal care and support with medications to socialisation and community engagement.
The Care Inspectorate said they found “significant strengths” in aspects of the care provided and how these supported “positive outcomes” for people.
An extract from their report said: “During our inspection visits we observed staff engaging with people in a kind and compassionate manner, helping them to achieve positive outcomes. This created a friendly and caring atmosphere within the service.
“We saw that interactions between the staff and the people they supported was considerate and genuine, which enabled them to provide effective support if people were upset and anxious.
“And we witnessed staff dealing with some individuals who were not happy with certain aspects of the service, but they were supported and encouraged to express their views openly.”
The report also goes on to say that management and staff “worked hard” to provide a “homely atmosphere” within the service which helped people to maintain their abilities and “promoted their independence.”
The report goes on: “We could see that the manager and staff team knew each person well, their likes, dislikes and preferences.
“This was reflected in the care and support planning documentation we reviewed.
“We saw that the individuals were involved in this process including family members or relatives, as appropriate. This helped to ensure people felt valued and able to express their views and opinions about the care and support provided to them.”
Blackwood’s ability to support people's wellbeing and leadership within the service were both graded as ‘very good.’
The report adds: “Feedback we received from external professionals was very good, describing the management and staff as responsive to any issues and very good at keeping them updated with any developments or changes.”
“And we received very positive feedback from relatives about the service and several said “they were brilliant.”
“Overall, they were very happy with the quality of the care and support provided and felt able to talk to the manager and staff about any issues or concerns and were made to feel welcomed when they visited.”
Some areas of the service needed “upgrading and refurbishment,” according to the report, but the scrutiny body said they were reassured this was “in hand” and had been put on hold due to the pandemic.
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