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Worried daughter slams Pitlochry care home as improvement deadline looms

Balhousie Pitlochry Care Home, where the inspection was carried out
Balhousie Pitlochry Care Home. Image: Dougie Nicolson/DC Thomson.

Operators of a Pitlochry care home insist a plan to bring up standards is on track as an improvement deadline looms.

Management at the under-fire Balhousie Pitlochry home were served with an enforcement notice by the Care Inspectorate in December.

It listed a number of improvements required with a deadline of January 15.

But the relative of one elderly woman who lives in the home says she doesn’t believe sufficient changes have been made.

Inspectors who visited the Perthshire care home, run by Balhousie Care Group, in August rated it either weak or adequate across all areas.

The care home rankings in 2022.

Residents who spoke to inspectors told them they were “bored”, with one complaining: “Staff always say they are too busy and will help me later.”

The report said: “The service was clearly under significant pressure as a result of the number of vacant posts and reliance on agency staff.

Residents’ health ‘compromised’ at Balhousie Pitlochry

“Lack of sufficient suitable trained staff meant that people’s health and wellbeing was
compromised.”

The care regulator issued an improvement notice, demanding several improvements to the failing service.

This included ensuring appropriate care plans were in place and that service users are provided with meals, snacks, drinks in accordance with their preferences.

Pitlochry Care Home improvement notice
One of the requirements made in the December 2022 improvement notice.

The relative who contacted The Courier said she still had concerns about her mother’s care.

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said her mother’s preferences in relation to food and drink continued to be repeatedly ignored – an issue highlighted by inspectors.

Daughter’s concerns

She said: “Very little mum is presented with is actually what she would want to eat.

“We were asked by management what her dietary preferences were when she moved in and I have repeatedly given them to management, but to no avail.”

The relative also echoed inspectors concerns about staffing, saying she believes it means her mother’s incontinence pads are not being changed regularly enough.

She added:”[My mum] lives in so-called ‘care’ but is not in fact receiving an adequate standard of even the most basic of personal care or attention.

“She is not even having her teeth cleaned, nor her hair washed if the hairdresser doesn’t come in, she just goes without.

“Twice it has been 14 days without a hair wash, even over the Christmas days she endured greasy, itchy hair and felt embarrassed in the festive family video calls.”

The woman said she did not blame the hard-working staff at the home, who she feels are overworked and have too many tasks to complete.

She said: “We blame extremely poor management ignoring a badly failed service.

“It has to stop.”

Improvement plan ‘on track’, care firm says

A Balhousie Care Group spokeswoman said an improvement plan put in place following the Care Inspectorate report is on track.

She said: “Our residents and their care and respect is at the heart of what we do, which is why the Care Inspectorate’s findings on a visit to our Pitlochry home were very disappointing.”

Balhousie Care Group said the findings were ‘very disappointing’. Image: Shutterstock

Asked about the ongoing concerns raised by the loved one of a woman they care for, the spokeswoman said: “Our hardworking Pitlochry staff immediately reached out to relatives and carers with full information and continue to be available at all times to answer all queries.

“They, wholly supported by our operations and quality teams, have determinedly and successfully been working to resolve all issues raised.”

The same firm runs a number of care homes across Scotland, with 12 in Perth and Kinross, six in Angus, three in Dundee and one in Fife.

‘We have every faith in the Pitlochry team’

The statement said confidence in the Pitlochry care home manager, Claire Mackay, is maintained.

It continued: “We are thankful to the Care Inspectorate for highlighting the serious staffing challenges facing the whole of the social care and health sector right now.

“We have every faith in the Pitlochry team, which has a strong reputation for its care, that it will meet the Care Inspectorate’s requirements.”

Care Inspectorate headquarters in Dundee. Image: DC Thomson.

The Care Inspectorate says a follow up inspection of the home will take place to check on progress at the home.

A spokeswoman said: “If we are not satisfied that sustained improvement has been made in the quality of care experienced by residents we will not hesitate to take further action.

“Everyone in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care which meets their needs and respects their rights.”

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