Mum would rather be homeless than live there
Disgusted families slam conditions
A Rutherglen care home has been accused of leaving elderly pensioners in “disgusting”living conditions.
Two families have contacted the Reformer in the past week regarding the Rutherglen Residential Nursing and Care Home on Rodger Drive.
Allison Barclay claims her 93-yearold mum Catherine has at times been left unable to reach her buzzer, leaving her without any way of contacting carers.
She said: “My mum told me she would rather be homeless than live there and that breaks your heart to hear.”
And relatives of 80-year-old Elizabeth Neeson say they were so concerned about her situation that they moved her back out of the home.
They were horrified that the pensioner, who suffers from dementia, was left in a filthy room with rubbish strewn across the floor.
Advinia, the firm who run the home, insist they were unaware of many of the allegations and that the wellbeing of residents is their highest priority.
Concerned relatives have accused a Rutherglen care home of failing to look after their family members.
Among the claims levelled at the Rutherglen Residential Nursing and Care Home on Rodger Drive are that residents have gone weeks without being washed, that they have been left in filthy rooms and, in one case, that a staff member told a woman suffering from dementia to “shut up”.
The problems became so bad that the family of 80-year-old Elizabeth Nesson chose to remove her from the privately owned home, run by Advinia.
The Reformer was also contacted by the daughter of a 93-year-old woman still at the care home, who said her mother has become miserable since moving there last October.
Advinia insist that some of the issues were not raised with them.
Elizabeth only moved into the premises in January and her family claim the situation worsened after the coronavirus pandemic occurred.
Elizabeth’s daughter Carolann Menzies and granddaughter Jerri Blair say the single room for Elizabeth was never cleaned.
Jerri told the Reformer: “I remember seeing my gran not long after she’d moved in, and going to give her a wee cuddle.
“You could tell from the smell that it had been days since they’d washed her.
“The room has been disgusting. There were crisp packets and food wrappers lying all over the place, and tissues lying about.
“We found bed sheets with what looked like **** on them – it turned my stomach.”
Jerri also says she overheard her gran being shouted at when asking for a cup of tea.
She added: “Gran was in tears, and I heard them say to her ‘shut up Liz, I’ll get to you in a minute’.
“You want your relatives looked after and cared for, not that. Would they treat they own relatives that way?”
At the end of April Elizabeth was taken into hospital, and when she was released she moved in with her daughter, rather than return to the care home.
Allison Barclay’s mother Catherine has been at the care home since last October.
She is deeply concerned at several incidents since then involving her mum, known as Kit.
She said: “There was one time early on where it was clear she hadn’t had a bath for two weeks – I was told this was an oversight.
“There was a horrible amount of dirt in parts of her room at one time, enough that you could scrape it up. When I spoke to a member of staff they agreed it was appalling and would be cleaned, but it shouldn’t have happened to start with.
“Sometimes they take her into the room in her wheelchair, but leave her in the middle of the room where she can’t reach anything, like her phone or the remote for the TV.
“She has very limited movement so sometimes she can’t even reach the buzzer to call anyone.”
A video taken by Allison during the lockdown and seen by the Reformer shows Kit unable to reach her buzzer, with Allison trying to attract attention while standing outside.
A previous incident saw the pensioner fall while stretching for her buzzer, shattering her knee.
Allison added: “She told me she would rather be homeless than live there and that breaks your heart to hear. I hope we can improve things for her there but I’m really concerned.”
A spokesperson for Advinia said: “The safety and wellbeing of all of our residents is our highest priority.
“In this incidence the resident was admitted to hospital at the end of April for a non-COVID-19 related health issue and then discharged back to their family home.
“We were informed, via social services, that the family did not want their loved one to remain at the home for wider fears about COVID-19 in care homes generally.
“No quality of care issues were raised with us by the family during this resident’s short stay at the home – these allegations are new to us.
“On the one occasion where a family member felt that a staff member hadn’t spoken to them appropriately, a senior team member tried to contact the family on several occasions to discuss the issue, but without success.
“We wish the resident well in their new care setting.”
Advinia were unable to respond to the claims regarding Mrs Barclay by the time the Reformer went to press.