‘That place should’ve been shut long ago’
Family’s fury over neglect and level of care at Whitehills
The family of a Whitehills Care Home resident who died in October have told the News the facility “should have been shut a long time ago”.
The distraught family spoke of the neglect their 72-year-old relative faced and how they found hi m on hi s deat h bed “f i l t hy, unshaven and with a massive bruise on his face”.
That’s only after they were told he was being taken to hospital and “not to rush” there as it was “n o t h i n g t o o s e r i o u s”. Hou r s l at e r, he di e d f r o m a dv a nc e d pneumonia.
Now a Care Inspectorate report i nto t he patient ’s t reatment at t h e E a s t Ki l b r i d e c a r e h o me confirmed a number of failings by staff, pointing to “poor management” that “r isked the health and wellbeing of residents”.
In October t he resident was r ushed t o hospital, but f amily were told by staff “it was nothing to worry about” – but when they got to Hairmyres Hospital just a couple of hours later, medics said there was very little they could do.
The pensioner remained on oxygen and had to be intubated until he died the next afternoon.
Heartbroken, the man’s family now say they have been left “so angry” at seeing Whitehills at the forefront of another care scandal during the coronavirus pandemic.
His niece, who does not wish to be named so as to protect his identity, said the family “never want others to go through what we have”.
Speaking exclusively, she told us: “We were told not to rush up to the hospital but when we arrived we got the shock of our lives – it was horrific.
“He w a s a b s o l u t e l y f i l t h y , unshaven with a massive bruise on his face – we were told he flung himself from a chair but I don’t buy it.
“He was a big, big man and I don’t think he could have physically done that.”
A doctor was called to Whitehills the day the resident was t aken t o hospital, but t he Inspectorate found no records of any treatment prescribed or if it was followed through on.
T h e y c o n c l u d e d t h e r e wa s no evidence to show staff had responded to signs of deterioration in the man’s health nor did they ensure he “received the best possible care, prior to being taken to hospital”.
The resi dent ’s niece added: “We got taken into a side room and told he was ‘very, very ill’ and the prognosis was poor.
“How did it go from ‘nothing too serious’ to that in the space of a few hours?
“His lungs were full of fluid and he hadn’t been off oxygen since paramedics blue-lighted him to hospital.
“You don’t get t o t hi s s t age ov e r n i g ht – h ow l o n g ha d h e been sitting gasping for breath before anything was done? It was heartbreaking. No one should be treated like that.”
The family say they flagged up concerns about their relative’s health to the home two weeks before he died, but say these fell on deaf ears. However, they were later upheld by the Care Inspectorate following his death.
An inspection found Whitehills staff failed in their duty of care with “poor management of the service presenting a risk to people’s health and wellbeing”.
During an unannounced visit at the end of November inspectors heard staff speaking about the late 72-year-old and other residents “in a way that was not courteous and respectful”.
Whitehills Care Home– r un by Thistle Healthcare LTD – was at t he centre of concerns over the quality of care following 23
C OV I D - r e l a t e d d e a t h s t h e r e during the pandemic.
And i t was ‘ being l et off t he hook’ and having ‘excuses made for them’ during this that tipped the family over the edge, saying they “couldn’t stay quiet anymore”.
His niece added: “The place was badly run a filthy even before COVID. When I read about Whitehills it made me so angry – that home should have been shut a long time ago.
“The standard of care for our family member and others was disgusting, i n my vi ew he was neglected and it cost him his life.
“Even after he died, we didn’t get so much as a phone call from anyone at Whitehills offering their condolences.
“We were disgusted to find staff had went into his room, turned it upside down and gone through his personal belongings before we had a chance to do so.
“His room shouldn’t have been touched until we had been in.”