The operators of a Skye care home where 10 residents died from Covid-19 have apologised for the level of care – but families last night said it was “too little, too late”.
HC-One director John Kirk sent a letter to some relatives of residents at the Home Farm Care Home in Portree ahead of the publication of what is expected to be a damning Care Inspectorate report.
The Care Inspectorate sought to remove HC-One as the care provider at the home after an inspection identified “serious and significant concerns” about the quality of care.
The case will resume on August 21 and the Care Inspectorate report will not be made public until after proceedings have ended.
However, HC-One has seen a draft, and in his letter Mr Kirk warns families they may find it “upsetting”.
He said: “We are extremely disappointed with the findings outlined in the report, some of which you may find upsetting to read.
“We fell far short of the level of care and service that we expect of ourselves and that our residents expect of us, and we can only apologise for this.
“However, I want to reassure you that the Care Inspectorate’s report from its inspections in May is in no way a reflection of the level of care and service being provided at the home today.
“As you know the home has acted quickly and worked incredibly hard to address the Care Inspectorate’s concerns. The team has made and continues to make significant improvements to the standards at the home and we are grateful for colleagues’ commitment to making sure that we work towards delivering the highest quality of care for the residents in the home.”
Mr Kirk said there is “still much work to do at the home” and improvements must be built on and sustained.
“In the meantime, we know both the NHS and the Care Inspectorate will be closely monitoring the home and HC-One, and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that we have the right measures and quality controls in place,” he added.
But families of Home Farm residents who died during the pandemic say they did not receive the HC-One letter. They have set up a support group and will “scrutinise” the investigation.
Councillor John Gordon, whose father John Angus died at the home, said there is little confidence in HC-One.
“It is good to hear HC-One are finally contacting families, although it is too little too late.
“Since the Care Inspectorate took legal action everyone involved with Home Farm have tried to get info from HC-One and NHS Highland and it was continually met with a silence, the lack of communication has caused frustration and upset which is still felt locally.
“There is very little confidence in HC-One. It’s going to take more than a letter for our community to trust them with our elderly population.
“To be honest I don’t think they are fit to be responsible for the care for our most vulnerable. To give them a few weeks to sort themselves out is embarrassing especially for a company whose whole business is supposedly care. It does not make sense.
“I find it appalling HC-One would not think to contact those who have lost loved ones during the virus outbreak, indeed we did not receive a copy of the letter. We have been left wondering if our loved ones died as a result of their poor standards and practices.”
HC-One said it wrote only to families who are currently in the home as the letter is about the future of the facility and the work that is under way to get care right for their loved ones.
It said the Care Inspectorate report was referenced because it expected it to come out shortly, but the letter did not include any details from the report.