CALLS are being made to Gloucestershire County Council to drive up standards in care homes after two Forest establishments were found to fall below par.

Euroclydon house in Drybrook, run by the Chantry Homes, and Prospect House in Cinderford, run by Innovation Care, were criticised for poor training and recruitment processes by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The largest public service union, UNISON South West, is calling for Gloucestershire County Council to sign up to its ethical care charter and consider whether ’profit-driven care is the best model for Gloucestershire’.

The inspection report at Euroclydon house found tablets down the side of armchair cushions — however cleaning audits showed that armchairs were cleaned each night so that any tablets not taken would be found within a 24-hour period, helping staff to work out who may not be taking their medicines as they knew who ‘tended’ to sit where.

The care was judged good for its effective, compassionate and well-led service.

Prospect House was judged ’inadequate’ in four of the five key areas for inspection. Inspectors said people’s safety was not always maintained, there are issues around the storage of medication and staff had not undertaken the training necessary for them to carry out their role effectively.

UNISON says its ethical care charter model acts as a benchmark to ensure that councils pledge to protect the dignity and quality of life for those people being cared for and the workers who care for them.

UNISON South West regional organiser, Jayne Jackson said: "These reports highlight a problem that exists in too many overstretched and underfunded care homes, with private companies failing to support staff who are doing a tough job in stressful circumstances.

"We wouldn’t tolerate consistently low standards in any other area of healthcare, and we need a new approach for care homes to ensure high quality care for all. Regulation by CQC report isn’t good enough. The county council needs to sign up to UNISON’s ethical care charter and think seriously about whether profit-driven care is the best model for Gloucestershire."

The full inspection reports can be found at www.cqc.org.uk