'Severely inadequate' staffing levels found at Skye care home

A care home in Skye had "severely inadequate" staffing levels and a "toxic and unsupportive" workplace culture, inspectors found.

The comments emerged in a report by the Care Inspectorate following an unannounced inspection last month.

At the time it issued an improvement notice to NHS Highland, which runs Home Farm Care Home in Portree.

The health board said it was taking the situation seriously and immediately implemented an improvement plan.

During the pandemic Home Farm, which was then operated by HC One, had at least 11 residents who died after testing positive for Covid.

The Care Inspectorate carried out an unannounced inspection at Home Farm between 17 and 19 May.

The inspection report has now been published with the biggest concerns relating to leadership which was graded as "unsatisfactory".

The inspectors found there was no consistent management presence in the home and staff were often working with no manager present or available.

Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns had not been reported, actioned or addressed appropriately.

The report said that staff spoke of a "toxic and unsupportive" workplace culture and did not feel confident raising concerns because they felt these would not be addressed.

Home Farm was also rated "weak" in three other areas including for its staff team.

Some staff were found to be "committed to providing good care and were working hard to meet people's needs despite challenging circumstances".

But the service was found to be heavily reliant on agency and bank staff to cover shifts, which meant staffing could be "inconsistent and unpredictable".

Staff were often working excessive hours to cover vacancies and absences and were left feeling "exhausted" because they were having to skip breaks to support residents.

Inspectors identified occasions when staffing numbers were "severely inadequate" and people could not be supported safely.

Inspectors also said they saw moving and assisting equipment not being used properly while staffing pressures meant that residents could not always be supported to join in with activities.

Lack of staff also meant that deep cleans of people's rooms were not being undertaken and routine maintenance checks and repairs had not been done.

Some rooms designed for residents were inappropriately being used as staff accommodation.

NHS Highland has been given until 1 August to make a series of improvements.

An NHS Highland spokesperson said: "We want to reassure people that we have taken this situation seriously and immediately implemented an improvement plan to address the issues raised to ensure we meet the recommendations of the Care Inspectorate.

"This included additional experienced staffing, leadership support and a review of the physical environment to ensure safe and consistent care is maintained.

"We are in direct contact with residents, their families and staff and are fully committed to making the necessary improvements as quickly as possible."