Borders care home task force created
A task force has been established in the Scottish Borders to drive up the quality of service being provided in care homes across the region.
The most recent inspections across 22 homes found 42% of key "themes" were failing to reach "good" standards.
They were judged to be unsatisfactory (1%), weak (13%) or adequate (28%).
Scottish Borders Council has set up an improvement team led by Tweeddale councillor Catriona Bhatia to look at ways to address any failings.
At the time of a study carried out by the local authority there were 22 care homes for older people in the region - 17 independently owned and five council run.
They can accommodate 662 people - and in January 2014 a total of 509 places (77%) were taken.
|Comparison of care gradings across last two inspections at all homes in the Scottish Borders|
|Grading category||Previous inspection||Current inspection|
The most recent Care Inspectorate gradings at the homes did show an improvement on previous checks.
However, a report to councillors said that the design of some buildings and the remoteness of some of their locations presented particular challenges.
The number of adult protection investigations has also shown an increase with the figure almost doubling between 2012 and 2013.
The council said it was confident it responded to all adult protection issues in a "robust manner".