A Highland care home has been closed to new admissions due to poor inspections grades amidst concerns from a family whose loved one had to wait seven days for an X-ray with a broken arm.
Karen Cowan, whose brother Ali Macdonald, 50, lived at Manor Care Centre in Nairn, now wants a change in the law after her brother was left in agonising pain for a week – but no one complained about the incident to the Care Inspectorate.
She wants it to be obligatory for police and social services to report serious incidents to inspectors.
The Stornoway woman, said she had to report her brother’s injuries herself – weeks after an incident at Manor Care Centre.
That is in spite of both police CID and social services involvement in the case.
Manor Care Centre has apologised while stressing two members of staff were suspended after concerns were raised, one has since been sacked.
Shocking incidents at Nairn home
Fearful that other people will not know what to do, she has taken the matter to her MSP to try and change the law.
While the home itself reported themselves to the inspectorate, Mrs Cowan said they minimised the incident.
She said: “In fact, they didn’t even report the incident to me, until a week after Ali was injured. ”
But Mrs Cowan said staff at the home used “every excuse in the book” not to take her 50-year-old brother to hospital at Raigmore, and tried to treat his injury with ibuprofen gel and paracetamol.
Mr Macdonald, a keen motorbike enthusiast, suffered horrific brain injuries in a road traffic accident in 2002. He has been in residential care in Nairn for the last 15 years.
While there was nowhere near Stornoway to care for Mr Macdonald, Mrs Cowan wanted him to stay in the Highlands.
She said: “I got a phone call from a nurse at the home on January 11 this year telling me they had received a new TV for Ali’s room.
“During the phone call the nurse told me that Ali still had some bruising on his arm. I was completely shocked as I didn’t know he had been injured.
“I asked what it was and he said he didn’t really know. I demanded that Ali was taken for an X-ray to find out.”
Mrs Cowan said that even after seven phone calls to the manager of the home he still had not been taken.
‘They used every excuse in the book’
She said: “They really did use every excuse in the book not to take him for an X-ray. They said there was no staff, no transport, Covid problems, unable to stay at Raigmore – anything.
“At one point I was put on the phone to the carer. She told me she had heard a crack when they were holding Ali down to shave him. I could not believe what I was hearing. This had happened seven days before, and they had not done anything.
“Ali was a biker before his injury – a hairy biker – so there are no demands from any of us that he is clean-shaven.”
Mrs Cowan said she eventually received a call from a consultant at Raigmore, who was so concerned about Mr Macdonald’s injury that he was taken into protective care.
From there, police were called as were social services.
Mrs Cowan says a police investigation later found that there was no criminality.
A few weeks after the incident, Mrs Cowan phoned the Care Inspectorate to find out what was happening with her complaint. She had assumed it had been made by either the police or social services.
But she found that no one had made a formal complaint.
She was told it had not received any information about the incident, other than from statutory self-reporting from the home itself.
Both police and social services explained it was not their job to make the complaint.
She said: “It horrifies me, that I could have situation so bad my brother was removed from the home, and unless I phoned up to complain it would not have been investigated.
Complaints about Nairn home upheld
Some months later, all of Mrs Cowan’s complaints were upheld by the inspectorate.
Mrs Cowan now wants to have a change in the law – in order that both police and social workers who investigated the case – are by law made to pass on information to the Care Inspectorate.”
Mrs Cowan has now raised the case with her MSP Alasdair Allan, who represents Na h-Eileanan an lar.
He said: “I am glad that the Care Inspectorate has upheld all aspects of this complaint and is taking action as a result.
“These were shocking incidents that no person in care should have to suffer.
“This case does raise questions about whether the reporting mechanisms for incidents of this nature need strengthened.”
Care home apology
A spokeswoman for Manor Care Centre said: “We are focused on ensuring everyone at Manor Care Centre receives the highest standards of personalised, quality care and support, so we are extremely disappointed that standards have fallen short in this case.
“There was delay in treating one of our residents for an injury sustained whilst in our care.
“As soon as management was made aware of the incident we immediately sought medical assistance for our resident and worked closely with the Care Inspectorate and Adult Support and Protection (ASP) in joint investigations.
“Two staff members were suspended as soon as the incident came to light and one has since been dismissed from our employment following investigation.
“We apologise again to the resident and their family for the injury sustained whilst in our care and for the distress caused during this experience.”
He said: “We can reassure the families of our residents that this situation has not been taken lightly, and the safety, comfort and well-being of our residents remains our top priority.”
A Care Inspectorate spokeswoman said: “Everyone in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care.
“Anyone with a concern about a care service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “The Manor is closed to admissions due to poor Care Inspectorate grades and therefore we are not placing new residents in the home at this time.
“We will communicate directly with existing residents, their families and staff should any further actions be required.”
A police spokeswoman said: “On Tuesday, January 11, 2022, police received a report a resident had been assaulted at the Manor Care Home in Nairn.
“An investigation was launched with extensive enquiries carried out.
“There was no evidence to substantiate the offence of assault. Officers liaised with the resident’s family and the care home throughout the inquiry.”
