Double blow for veterans’ charity as boss quits and home gets damning report

THE chief executive of a top veterans’ charity quit his post just days before a damning report was published into one of the group’s care homes.

Major Jim Panton resigned as CEO of Erskine amid claims that the quality of staffing and leadership in the Edinburgh facility was poor.

The inspection report found prescription drugs had not been administered properly, and fluid and food intakes had not been recorded.

However, a spokesman for the home said Panton’s resignation was unrelated to the findings.

Erskine, whose patron is Prince Charles, provides nursing and medical care for around 1200 former servicemen and woman.

Founded in 1916, it has homes across the country, with facilities in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Bishopton, and employs hundreds of staff.

However, the charity suffered a blow recently when Panton, who had been CEO for two years, quit on June 3. The former Army major said he was resigning in order to take over his family business.

The Sunday Herald has learned Panton’s departure coincided with Erskine’s Edinburgh home receiving a critical report from watchdog Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS).

According to inspectors, the home’s quality of care and support, management and leadership, and quality of staffing were “weak”.

Part of the unannounced inspection in April focused on areas the provider was supposed to have already addressed.

Areas “not met” included sharing care plans with relevant representatives, offering regular activities to veterans and recording them, and ensuring that staff are trained to provide recreational pursuits.

The home also fell short on developing a “plan of care” for service users, recording information that is given to veterans’ families, and having appropriately qualified staff on duty to meet health needs.

SCSWIS also said the Edinburgh home had not been keeping accurate records of all medication provided.

In particular, the watchdog found “inadequate record keeping of fluids and food”, while some newly prescribed drugs had been “handwritten, had no signatures, no date and no reference to the prescriber”.

The report also expressed concern at the lack of a permanent manager, and relayed fears about the dearth of leadership on the day of the visit.

The inspection followed a complaint about the care home.

According to the charity’s latest accounts, Erskine had incoming resources of £22.8 million in the year up to September 2010, and outgoings of £24.9m.

Voluntary income reduced in the same period by £3.1m to £7.5m, while there was also a fall in donations.

Sir Sean Connery’s charity, Friends of Scotland, has raised funds for the veterans’ group in the past. In the last term of the Scottish Parliament, ministers announced a £10,000 grant from the Scottish Veterans’ Fund.

A source close to the charity said Erskine had made substantial changes following the inspection in April. He said managers had been sent in from homes around the country: “It’s been all hands to the pump.

Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie MSP, said: “Veterans deserve the highest possible standards of care and it is vital urgent action is taken to turn things around at this care home.”

A spokesman for Erskine Edinburgh Care Home said it was “certainly not the case” that Panton’s departure was linked to the report.

“Since the inspection in April, we have implemented a number of changes to improve our care and we have seconded our most experienced care managers and staff to the Edinburgh Home to lead and develop the overall team.

“We are working closely with SCSWIS and at the end of April agreed a programme of work to restore the high standards of care we are known for.”

Royal College of Nursing Scotland associate director Norman Provan said: “RCN Scotland has been involved at all stages of these concerns and is now working with Erskine Homes, which has acknowledged these issues and has been working to resolve them.”