Shocking care standards at Southern Cross’s Scottish old folks home exposed
A HORRENDOUS catalogue of neglect, cruelty and abuse at nursing homes run by the collapsed care giants Southern Cross can be revealed today.
Secret files expose shameful failures in the firm’s homes where elderly residents were abandoned alone and in agony.
Watchdogs upheld more than 100 complaints against the firm’s Scottish homes every year.
Yesterday, campaigners branded the treatment of frail residents “little more than torture”.
The incidents revealed include:
■ A resident being left in agony for two weeks with an undiagnosed broken leg.
■A man who received just one bath in 22 days.
■Residents being asked to use newspaper instead of toilet rolls in the bathroom.
■ A vulnerable man on a liquid-only diet being given a plate of hamburger and chips.
We obtained 40 case files under freedom of information laws – only a fraction of more than 841 complaints upheld by the Care Inspectorate – formerly the Care Commission – against the firm in Scotland since 2004.
Our papers show how recruitment procedures at Southern Cross, one of Britain’s biggest nursing home firms until their collapse last year, were so lax that new members of staff were able to start work without being properly vetted.
Care was undermined by chronic staff shortages and “overworked” carers.
All the complaints predate the homes being taken over by new owners last year after Southern Cross collapsed.
National Pensioners’ Convention general secretary Dot Gibson said: “This catalogue of appalling treatment of some of Scotland’s most vulnerable older people amounts in some cases to little more than torture.
“If animals were treated in this way we would quite rightly be upset and outraged – but when it happens to older people nothing seems to be done.
“The complete lack of respect and dignity shown to residents, coupled with poor standards of care, are a damning indictment of the social care system that must now be radically reformed.”
Age Scotland – the country’s campaign group for the elderly – last night described the findings as a “national scandal”.
Spokesman Lindsay Scott said: “There is no excuse for the level of abuse that has been exposed in these reports.
“The fact that failings have been identified across these homes is a national scandal and residents have been terribly betrayed.”
In one case, an elderly man endured a series of healthcare blunders, which led to his rapid deterioration and death.
Eight separate failures were levelled against the Orchard care centre in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, after James Calderwood, 75, died at Clackmannan hospital in October 2010.
An investigation revealed he had suffered a pressure sore that went untreated for so long it turned into a wound one inch deep by two wide.
Diabetic James had also been rushed to Stirling Royal Infirmary after staff failed to monitor blood sugar levels that dropped to a dangerous low.
Checks revealed the twice-daily testing regime was either not being carried out or not recorded on medical charts, which revealed gaps of up to a week between tests.
James’s teeth fell out after, as records revealed, they were not brushed for eight days.
At Burlington Court care home in Glasgow, a complaint was lodged in December 2009 after staff ignored a confused resident who was wandering around with an incontinence pad and covered in waste.
The same home came was criticised in May last year after staffing was found to be half the safe level despite dwindling numbers of residents.
And in June 2010, a man who had been rushed to hospital twice while choking was told to “push up” ill-fitting dentures – increasing the risk of another attack.
The same resident at Ravens Court care centre in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, was also offered hamburger and chips even though a “soft diet” plan was in place.
Fellow residents complained about the lack of menu options after being told repeatedly they would not be able to have eggs and bacon for breakfast.
Only “liquid egg” was available from kitchen stores, they were told.
At Balfarg care home in Glenrothes, inspectors discovered newspaper had been stuffed down a lavatory.
The August 2009 inspection concluded: “Newspaper was put down the toilet as there was no toilet paper in the holder. This suggested that while toilet rolls were in stock, they were not available for residents’ use.”
Managers ordered staff at Riverside View care home in Dundee to lay tables instead of helping residents use the toilet – resulting in one resident “having an accident”.
Another was offered just two baths in 22 days and also missed out on daily washes.
An activities coordinator was found to have “pushed” a resident forcefully in their wheelchair at Mavisbank home in Glasgow in June 2008.
In yet another appalling incident, a resident with soiled nightwear was left in bed by staff to see “how long it would be left for” before being cleaned up.
The March 2009 report on Springfield Bank nursing home in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, stated: “There appeared to be no recognition that all staff were equally accountable for ensuring that residents’ dignity was not compromised.”
Criminal records checks were also not being properly carried out, with three staff starting work at the home before they were given the official all-clear.
In total, staffing levels came up in almost half of all complaints against the homes. Other complaints focused on missing valuables, poor training of staff, communication breakdowns, accidental overdoses of medication and poor handling techniques.
The “complaint resolution letters”, blacked out to hide personal details, were sent to regional Southern Cross offices in Stirling, Glasgow and Darlington.
Southern Cross – formerly owned by private equity firm Blackstone – were the largest care home operators in the UK with 750 homes and 31,000 residents.
They went bust in July after operating 99 care home services across Scotland, one in 10 of the total. Ninety-six of them were for the elderly.
All bar three of the homes have now cancelled their registration and were taken on by new firms including Four Seasons, HC One and Tower Bridge Care Homes.
HC One have taken on almost a third of the homes and chief executive David Spruzen said: “After months of uncertainty for residents, relatives and staff we are honoured to be starting this new era.”
Only five from 841 complaints
Orchard
Tullibody, 2010
The home was at fault eight times in the death of an elderly man.
Distressed relatives complained dressings on a bed sore were not changed and vital insulin jabs missed. The pensioner was rushed to hospital with a dangerous blood sugar low.
The Care Inspectorate said: “The poor quality, inconsistency and intermittent nature of the recording leads us to believe the health care provided was poor.”
Burlington Court
Glasgow, 2009
Investigators found staff had ignored an elderly lady who was allowed to wander round the home covered in her own waste.
Inspectors said: “A staff nurse stated that the family had already cleaned up their mother. But she did see evidence of dried faeces on the service user’s clothes.”
Staff claimed she had been “unsettled” but were told they should be able to deal with “challenging behaviours”.
Ravens Court
Wishaw, 2010
A man who had a history of “severe choking” was fed hamburger and chips.
Staff ignored the resident’s soft diet plan even though they were rushed to hospital twice after choking on lumpy food.
Staff were ordered to show more “respect” after the resident was spoken to “unkindly” by a carer.
The home was given a 10-point plan to improve performance.
Craigielea
Renfrew, 2007
An elderly woman lay in agony with a broken leg for two weeks before she was admitted to hospital.
She was eventually seen after her family demanded a doctor.
Staff could not account for how the injury occurred and their claim she might have done it outside the home was found to be “incorrect”.
Inspectors said the care was “inadequate,” no pain assessment had been made and that medics should have been called earlier.
Almond Court
Glasgow, 2010
A woman suffered a serious head injury after staff took away her bed fitted with special safety rails.
Despite being assessed as a “very high risk” of falling, the lady had an alternative “crash mat” installed after her bed was given to a terminally ill patient.
Staff failed to monitor her injury on return from hospital and left her in a state of “discomfort and very cold”.
