Care Homes Failing to Meet Basic Standards

Hundreds of elderly people in Scotland are living in nursing homes which are failing to meet basic standards of care. A Sunday Herald investigation has revealed dozens of homes have been warned by the Care Commission over disturbing faults in the past 18 months, including restraint of residents and failure to meet nutritional needs and provide adequate fluids to drink.

Other problems highlighted in official inspections included hygiene and infection control procedures, staff shortages and a lack of staff training. In one case, a private nursing home was ordered to immediately fix faults in the plumbing system after a resident was scalded.

The findings come in the wake of high-profile cases which have exposed shocking lapses in some homes. Last week, private healthcare giant Bupa was fined £90,000 for failings that contributed to the “entirely avoidable” death of Charlotte Wood, 95, who fell from a hoist after bathing in a home in Kent.

Earlier this year a sheriff ruled that a frail pensioner – described as looking like a skeleton – had died after a series of failures in an understaffed home in Paisley, East Renfrewshire. George Fairlie, 74, was severely dehydrated and malnourished when he died in 2002.

Campaigners, who claim some failures amount to abuse of the elderly, called for immediate action to improve standards.

A spokesman for Age Concern Scotland said that, while the majority of Scottish homes offered excellent care, older people should not have to enter a “lottery” on standards. He added: “Malnourishment, under-hydration and inappropriate use of restraint are infringements of basic human rights and in some cases may be viewed as abuse.”

Help The Aged in Scotland called on nursing home owners and local authorities to co-operate to improve standards but warned it would “cost money”.

The problems are revealed in 71 official warnings issued between January 2005 and the end of last month. The majority involved private homes with 16 to 180 residents. One served on Forebank Care Home in Dundee last year stated “you must ensure service users are provided with an adequate daily intake of fluids” and “you must ensure no service user is subject to restraint unless it is the only practicable means of ensuring the welfare of that or any other service user.”

A spokesman for Four Seasons Health Care, which runs the home, said the notice had been lifted and the Care Commission was now satisfied .

Elderslie Care Home in Paisley was warned in April 2005 over staff shortages and ordered to demonstrate “safe staff recruitment and selection procedures”. In the same month, Quayside Nursing Home in Yoker, Glasgow, was told to ensure it was “free from malodours” and ensure a satisfactory level of cleanliness.

Kenny Valentine, director of Bupa Care Homes for Scotland, which runs both homes, said it had taken immediate action. He added: “The Care Commission has visited the homes and is satisfied these concerns have been addressed.”

John Swinburne MSP, of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, called for inspectors to be given more powers to scrutinise homes, including auditing books “ so you can tell by a simple mathematical formula if they are taking too much profit out of the system or not”.

Joe Campbell, chairman of Scottish Care, which represents care home owners, said one of the biggest problems was government underfunding: “We’re not being greedy, but there’s a price for care and we don’t get the price for care.”

However, deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald said there had been “substantial” funding for care homes, and added that a further £57.5m was earmarked “to increase fee levels again next year and further drive up quality”.

Liz Norton, director of adult services regulation at the Care Commission, said safe recruitment practices and nutrition were being targeted during inspections.