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  Neglect and filth at Skye care home where 10 elderly residents died of COVID-19

  Posted by Nigel on 4 September 2020 at 12:16 pm

  A report has described the dirty, unsafe and undignified conditions experienced by residents in the privately owned care home on the Island of Skye in Scotland where ten people died of Covid-19.

  The Care Inspectorate revealed that residents of Home Farm nursing home, formerly owned by HC-One, had been left to lie in urine and faeces, “including occasions when the urine and faeces had dried”.

  HC-One is the largest provider in the UK, with more than 300 care homes around the country, and describes itself as “the kind care company”.

  At its property in Portree, medications were not always dispensed safely or on time, while procedures to deal with residents’ pressure sores, skin complaints and ulcers were not properly carried out or understood.

  Basic mouth hygiene and tooth care was often overlooked. “Some people did not have toothbrushes and did not receive assistance with mouth care or to moisten their mouths,” the report found.

  Among the catalogue of failings, inspectors expressed “significant concern” about infection control in a home where sticky, smelly carpets were “ingrained with dirt”, mirrors and glass were streaked with grime and the staff kitchen was “dirty and in disarray”.

  Staff did not consistently wear PPE and there were “serious concerns about the staff team’s ability to safely put on, wear, remove and dispose of personal protective equipment”.

  The inspectorate initiated a court action against HC-One in May, but within weeks the case was dropped. A police investigation into the deaths of three of the residents is continuing.

  The report was published as Jeane Freeman, the health secretary, announced the Scottish government had funded the £900,000 buyout of Home Farm from HC-One, to ensure the future well being of residents.

  In January a report highlighted problems in cleanliness and staffing at Home Farm. The outbreak of Covid-19, reported at the end of April, prompted three inspections by the inspectorate between May 4 and 6 and May 13.

  Tests showed that 29 people living in the home and 26 staff had the COVID-19 virus.

  The inspectors found management was sometimes uncooperative with public health officials. The report stated: “Initial offers to assist with cleaning the care home and disinfecting it with a recommended cleaning product were refused.

  This placed people at unnecessary risk.”

  When senior managers gave assurances that robust action had been taken, inspectors “found further evidence of unsatisfactory performance in key areas including cleanliness, infection control and food safety”.

  There were concerns about HC-One’s “lack of transparency” and its capacity to work with other agencies to make improvements and reduce risk.

  Redeployed staff found it difficult to provide safe care “due to a lack of information about people’s care needs” and “had to provide care without being able to read people’s care plans”.

  The source of the COVID-19 outbreak at Home Farm has not been confirmed. Five hospital patients were discharged by NHS Highland without being tested for coronavirus to the home in late March, before routine testing for the virus was introduced.

  Workers at the care home are reported to have arrived from as far afield as Kent, without being tested for the virus.

  The Care Inspectorate graded Home farm under five headings and judged all “unsatisfactory”. Residents did not receive the right support to eat and drink well, with some drinks out of reach and meals prepared incorrectly, increasing the risk of choking.

  Visits by inspectors recorded in two further reports showed conditions at the home improved over summer. NHS Highland said: “Both the Care Inspectorate and NHS Highland are satisfied that infection control measures now in place are adequate.”

  John Kirk, managing director of HC-One in Scotland, said the company was “deeply sorry” and promised “lessons have been and will continue to be learnt . . . so that we can prevent anything like this happening again”.

  He said that the company had “worked at length with NHS Highland and the Care Inspectorate to make improvements at the home” and he was pleased the reports in July and August recognised “significant improvements”.

  It’s terrible to know the very people that built this country through hardship and hard times were treated in this way purely for profit. Senior lives matter, we owe everything to them yet continue to give them nothing!

  

  Nigel replied 4 years, 3 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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