Top marks for Edinburgh care support service

An Edinburgh-based housing and care provider has received a five-star endorsement from Scotland’s care watchdog following a recent inspection.

Blackwood Care Edinburgh and South East Services received high marks for a second year in a row for quality of care and support, which were awarded grades of five, meaning they are rated ‘very good’.

The quality of management and leadership was also rated highly with a grade of five, acknowledging that there are very few areas requiring improvement.

The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland on a scale from one to six, where six is ‘excellent’.

Blackwood Care Edinburgh and South East Services – which provides housing support and care at home to adults with physical disabilities, and older adults in their own homes – also received praise for the quality of their service from customers and their relatives, with 100% of survey respondents happy with the quality of care provided.

Fanchea Kelly, Chief Executive at Blackwood, said: “We are thrilled to achieve top grades again for the second year in a row. We’re very pleased with the report and feedback from our customers.

“At the centre of everything we do are the people we do this for, and Blackwood continues to strive to give the best quality service. Being recognised by the Care Inspectorate for the hard work and dedication of our staff is both encouraging and rewarding.”

One customer respondent said: “The staff are amazing. It’s Blackwood that keeps you alive.”

Another respondent said: “Although I care for my husband – staff come in in pairs four times a day for hoisting, bathing, etc. Not only does my husband receive excellent care, I am lucky to have the staff ensuring I am OK, too.

“I appreciate all they do in delivering ‘tip top’ care to my husband and myself.”

Blackwood’s commitment to customer care was reflected by the Care Inspectorate, with the inspectors’ report stating: “Our observations showed that staff had developed positive, trusting relationships with people they supported.

“The organisation’s values positively informed staff practice, and the customer was at the centre of decision-making.

“It was clear that the service was committed to continuous improvement, evident across a range of areas: care documentation; incident monitoring; supervision; and audits.”

The Care Inspectorate report added: “People’s independence was encouraged – for example, the service offered digital skills training so that people could gain confidence and learn to safely access services.”

Blackwood Care Edinburgh and South East Services also manages Blackwood’s Night Support Service which allows people with a wide range of disabilities at its Laura Fergusson Court development to remotely access care to safely maintain their confidence throughout the night.

The Night Support initiative allows customers to also make video calls with expert staff between 10pm and 7am so that staff can assess a situation just as they would do in person.

Since it was founded in 1972 by Dr Margaret Blackwood, Blackwood has pioneered housing and care by continuously innovating and utilising technology to help people live as independently as possible. In the report, customers particularly celebrated Blackwood’s bespoke CleverCogs™ system.

CleverCogs™ is a digitally enhanced care system, which allows customers to communicate with carers, as well as friends and family and also gives users control over their support and care.

Pictured: Fanchea Kelly, Chief Executive at Blackwood.