A complaint against a Fife care home has been upheld by the regulator after a local woman claimed her great-great grandmother lived out her last year in pain.
Sonia Dixon complained to the Care Inspectorate about the care her 101-year-old relative Doreen had experienced at Woodside Court care home in Glenrothes.
After bringing her beloved relative home to stay with her, Sonia quickly noticed problems that the care home hadn’t informed Doreen’s family about.
Owned by HC One, Woodside Court is a 60-bed facility in Glenrothes that cares for adults and people with dementia.
The home’s operator said it “deeply regrets falling short on this occasion” but queried some of the family’s claims.
Anger at care system
Sonia Dixon told STV News that her gran had been failed by the care home and the system in general.
After she returned to live with Sonia, Doreen began to experience agony during the night as a result of problems going to the toilet.
Sonia said she noticed quickly that there was problem that “hadn’t been picked up” by the home.
“They said she’d had a sore bottom for quite a long time and that was never investigated further,” Sonia said.
Sonia had fought to allow Doreen to be allowed to return home during the coronavirus crisis.
Doreen had said she would rather die than live out the final months of her life in isolation at Woodside Court.
The centenarian had grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren, and her family had supported her decision to return home.
“My nan was so happy to be out of the home and with her family,” Sonia said.
“She moved in with me and she loved her room.
“She had a big window to watch the birds and she really, really appreciated it.”
‘She was screaming all day’
In an emotional interview with STV, Sonia said Doreen had told staff repeatedly that her bottom was sore.
“She was actually screaming all day. We never got told that either.
“I’m so angry, they let her down so badly. She was a kind, good woman and did not deserve that, she was in pain for the last year of her life for no reason.
“I don’t blame the individual carers, it’s the whole care system. Our issues didn’t start with the pandemic, we had issues before.”
Sonia said that Doreen’s family was reassured she was receiving proper care.
She said: “That never happened, it was like she hit a certain age and they thought ‘she’s old anyway there’s not much more we can do’.”
She also told The Courier Doreen had her hand injured but the care home didn’t inform her relatives until they had a visit booked.
After Doreen died in May, Sonia took her concerns to the Care Inspectorate who upheld her complaint.
An investigation by the regulator found staff had failed to monitor Doreen’s health needs, and STV reports that on one day she was given only 370 millilitres of fluid throughout an entire day.
Recommendations made to Fife care home
With Sonia’s complaint upheld the Care Inspectorate has made a number of recommendations to the care home.
These include better monitoring and recording of healthcare needs, including the “assessment, management, and monitoring of any presenting symptoms”.
But Sonia said more needed to be done, with tougher punishments for care homes when complaints like hers are upheld.
“The care home is told this isn’t right…here’s the recommendations, and that’s it, there’s no consequences for failure of care homes, nothing happens.
“We need to raise awareness of problems in care homes. It already happened to my nan, it shouldn’t happen to any other family.”
HC One cast doubt on suggestions Doreen’s pain when going to the toilet was related to the care she received in the home.
HC One say this occurred weeks after she left and so could be due to various factors including diet, medicines taken, and mobility.
It also said it had no record of Doreen screaming through the night.
A spokesperson for operator HC One told The Courier: “Our priority is to deliver the best possible care for each Resident we serve, so we deeply regret and apologise for falling short on this occasion.
“Doreen was a beloved Resident of the home for six years. We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating her 100th birthday with her and we know she lived a wonderful, fulfilled life.
“Our thoughts and sympathies remain with her family.”