Ross-shire Women’s Aid rated ‘weak’ by Care Inspectorate in three key areas
A care watchdog has issued a damning report on a Ross-shire service for women and their children who have experienced domestic abuse.
Ross-shire Women's Aid, whose services include refuge accommodation and outreach support, was judged to be weak in three key areas following an unannounced two-day inspection by the Care Inspectorate.
The areas of weakness identified were leadership, the team and how well the service supports people’s wellbeing
The visit took place on March 11 and 12 when there was no manager in place.
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The Care Inspectorate regulates the part of Ross-shire Women's Aid registered as a housing support service specifically for women and children in the refuge which comprises self-contained flats plus communal areas and a garden.
The Care Inspectorate said key findings included a lack of clear leadership and management.
It also said safer recruitment guidelines needed to be followed, systems needed to be implemented to track training and child and adult protection procedures needed to be updated.
But it also noted the woman were happy with the support they received.
The inspection report issued a list of required improvements including the immediate deployment of an interim manager.
The report stated: “We were concerned to find that staff did not know who was in charge of the service when we arrived.
“This had meant that a number of documents we required were not in place, and not been for over a year.
“Due to the impact of this we asked the provider to deploy an interim manager to the service immediately.
“The service did not have a development plan in place. We requested the plan for the previous year, however, there did not appear to be one.”
The report also stated that supervision provided to staff had not been consistent although this had improved in the last few months.
The inspectorate said by April 30, the service must ensure a management structure was in place which provided managerial oversight, supervision, and accountability.
It is also required effective quality assurance systems to be developed by May 30.
The inspector also set out a list of requirements after giving a ‘weak’ evaluation to the team.
“We were very concerned that the principles of safer recruitment had not been considered when employing staff,” the report stated.
“There was some staff whose references had not been requested, along with a lack of the documentation of the interview process. The policy needed to be more specific to ensure the correct processes were undertaken during recruitment.”
The required action included a deadline of April 30 to follow safer recruitment principles to ensure staff had the right knowledge, competence and skills to safely support service users.
It also said a training plan and effective system to record training undertaken by staff should be developed by May 30.
On evaluating how well the service supported people’s wellbeing, the inspection found while some strengths could be identified, these were compromised by significant weaknesses.
The report stated staff had good relationships with the woman they supported.
“We heard how they helped them through difficult situations by providing individual emotional support,” it said.
“This helped the woman to gain confidence and improve their self-esteem. Within the service, woman felt listened to.
“However, we found evidence that when woman wished to make a complaint this was not actioned appropriately.
“Woman were unsure who they would make a complaint to.”
The report noted there were opportunities in the refuge to come together to make crafts, have tea parties and socialise together.
It continued: “The staff team did not feel part of the decision making within the service.
“This had been ongoing for a number of years, where there was a lack of respect for each other's decisions.
“This led to staff making their own decisions around group work and individual support. Although this did not appear to impact the woman, it impacted on the team relationships and dynamics.”
The inspectorate said by May 31, the provider must ensure there is a robust complaints policy in place and by June 10 , it must update its child and adult protection policy.
A statement issued by Ross-shire Women’s Aid said: “Before the Care Inspectorate’s report, we identified areas for improvement and strategies to move forward.
“We are in the process of implementing these strategies to strengthen the service and build confidence with the Inspectorate.”
