A FRONTLINE vital care service which looks after 1,300 people in Inverclyde has been given top marks by inspectors.

The health and social care partnership-run home care service, which operates from the Hillend Centre, was put under the microscope during an unannounced inspection last November.

The report into it has now been published and it graded all areas of the service as 'very good'.

Councillor Francesca Brennan, convener of the social work and social care scrutiny panel, said: “This is a fantastic report and I’d like to congratulate all the hard-working staff providing this vital service.

“Having such a positive report, particularly after the pandemic, is credit to all involved and shows the commitment of all the staff.

“The service underwent a redesign earlier this year and it’s encouraging to see that this has gone down well with staff and the service users by giving them more consistency, regular care times and confidence in staff."

During the six-day inspection, staff from the Care Inspectorate spoke to people using the service and their relatives, plus care at home staff and management.

It is the first time the service has been inspected since the pandemic and continues the run of top level ratings from previous reports published between 2015 and 2019.

Councillor Brennan added: “It’s particularly heartening to read such positive feedback from service users and their families who feel the carers look after them with care, compassion and dignity.

“There are recruitment and absence challenges within the service but it’s to be celebrated that this hasn’t affected the high standards of care and professionalism.”

Just one area of improvement was highlighted by the watchdogs, with regards to the administration of medication.

This was also highlighted in a previous inspection from 2019. Inspectors observed that some progress had been made but that some more needed to be done. The service is working alongside colleagues in pharmacy health to make these improvements.