Inspection at Grantown care home amid range of complaints
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Concerns over the quality of care being provided at a Grantown nursing home have been raised with the Strathy and are being investigated by the Care Inspectorate.
Complaints from several different quarters have been received by the Strathy about the service being delivered at Parklands Ltd's Lynemore care home on the town's Seafield Avenue.
The claims from staff members past and present and a resident's family include elderly residents being left in soiled and wet beds, vulnerable people being able to wander off site and an employee being reprimanded for not working when she had Covid.
Parklands, which has its base in Grantown, has defended the quality of care it is providing and maintained the inspection is part of a scheduled visit.
One staff member at Lynemore who did not want to be named said: "I found Lynemore was nice but over time I have come to realise that it this is not the case.
"In my first year I found one patient wet three days in a row.
"This individual was clearly left in wet clothes and a wet bed for most of the night which caused the individual a lot of distress. This went on for three days in a row after I said that this was not right.
"The patient was distressed and at one point left in a wet bed in wet clothes and windows open all night. The heating was also off.
"The next day the individual was up and dressed but this soon returned and it still continues.
"On another occasion I came on for my shift to find an individual who was receiving palliative care covered in their faeces on the bed.
"Not long after I started at Lynemore I was working with another colleague when I witnessed them grab a patent under the arms and drag them up the bed.
"I have since witnessed this more than a dozen times.
"At one time we had a new lady come in from Eastern Europe who could not speak much English and had applied to work in the kitchen but they were put onto cleaning and told 'You have to speak better English to work in the kitchen'.
"I found this horrible, and I can remember the person leaving very upset.
"On more than 20 occasions I have come into bedrooms of patients only to find medication left by their beds, sometimes for hours. This has been brought up on more than one occasion but no one seems to care.
"I have witnessed notes being altered and removed. We have witnessed rough treatment by staff towards patients who, having no soap to wash with, were simply told by management and senior staff to just wash with water."
A former Lynemore care assistant, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: "I had Covid and couldn't go into work because I work in a care home.
"A phone call with my boss ended with her shouting down the phone at me, saying my attitude was stinking and that she was going to hang up before she got angry," she said.
"I was told I never had a contract yet the manager said I had to do my 'contracted hours'. Two days later they found my contract and asked me in for a dismissal meeting to which I asked for some time to think about it as I was extremely stressed and so upset.
"I was missing my residents at work and being made to feel I had done something wrong when no-one was listening to me.
"The code of practice has been broken due to poor management and poor training."
One resident's family said: "We have heard a lot of things from ex-staff including that two of the patients had managed to escape and one was found in the Co-op.
"They have lost a lot more staff since the management changed – good staff that had worked in care homes for years.
"We requested a meeting with social work as my mum was getting a bit aggressive with some of the staff and residents.
"We have pointed out that at the weekends there are very few staff so if two residents that don't like each other meet there is sometimes no one to intervene in time."
Parklands Care Homes maintained that the inspection was a perfectly routine process and that previous visits had resulted in good ratings.
A company spokesperson said: “Lynemore has been the subject of five such inspections. We naturally welcome this scrutiny and have been fully open and transparent.
“The Care Inspectorate rated Lynemore 4 (good) for the way in which it supports residents’ well-being. Needless to say, if there are areas where we can further enhance the quality of care we provide, we will, of course, do so.
“There is now a substantial waiting list for the home, such is its reputation. As a consequence, we expect to announce a significant investment at Lynemore in the coming weeks.
“Many of our residents have very challenging health needs involving multiple partners, and it would not be appropriate to comment on them nor can we comment on internal disciplinary matters. The Care Inspectorate will have an opportunity to consider all aspects of care provision at Lynemore.
“Parklands was formed 30 years ago by our managing director following his experience as a carer for his grandfather. He resolved then that the care he gave to his grandfather should be the standard of care each of our residents receives. We treat every one of our residents as though they were a member of our own family.”
The multi-award-winning care company is one of the largest independent care home providers in the north of Scotland.
A Care Inspectorate spokesperson confirmed: "A concern has been raised with us about this service. A planned inspection of this service commenced on August 1. A report of the inspection will be published on our website in due course.”
