MANAGERS at an Ilkley care complex have stressed their commitment to high standards after a new report called for urgent action.

Inspectors found improvement was needed in four out of five categories when they visited Abbeyfield Grove House in Ridding Road in April. These related to whether the service was safe, effective, caring and responsive.

Inspectors also found three breaches of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

But the Care Quality Commission (CQC) accepted the service provided to residents was ‘caring’, and it noted positive remarks from people living in the flats and from their families.

Abbeyfield Ilkley Society’s domiciliary care service provides support for people living in the extra care complex, comprising of 42 flats for people with conditions including dementia and physical disability.

At the time of inspection, the manager had recently resigned and an interim manager was in place.

The CQC report summary said: “We found the organisation’s staff recruitment and selection procedures were not robust, which might lead to people receiving their care and support from staff unsuitable to work in the caring profession.

“We also found staff had not received the training support they required to carry out their roles effectively and in people’s best interest.

“However, the staff we spoke with were able to describe how individual people preferred their care and l Turn to page two care and support to be delivered and the importance of treating people with respect in their own homes. People who used the service and their relatives told us staff were very caring and always provided support in line with their agreed plan.”

The report added: “The chief executive officer, operations and compliance manager and interim manager all acknowledged the current service shortfalls, but detailed the recent changes that had begun to be implemented, which were not yet fully embedded at the time of the inspection.”

In response to the report, Abbeyfield Ilkley Society said: “At Abbeyfield, we strive to meet the highest standards at all times and we are very proud of the quality track record of the services we provide.

“We are disappointed the domiciliary care service has received some negative comments from inspectors, and attracted an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’.

“However, we are pleased the inspector has rated the service as ‘good’ for the area of inspection ‘is the service caring?’.

“We also welcome the positive comments contained within the report from both staff and people who use the service about the improvements following the appointment of the new manager.”

Chief executive officer, Jackie Bradfield, added: “We have already taken action to remedy the issues raised in an effort to ensure immediate improvement.”

Chairman, Brian Whitaker, said: “Whilst we are continuing to respond to issues raised in the report, it is important to note that in relation to care, which is our primary aim, we attracted a ‘good’ rating.”

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