Families slam care and treatment at Fife nursing home

One woman, who asked not to be named, said she caught a member of staff at Alexander House "yelling" in the face of her elderly father, who has dementia, and said he had suffered a broken arm, a head injury and damaged ribs because he had been "very badly neglected".

The woman said her father was left isolated in his room in "unsafe" positions, with his personal alarm left out of his reach, and that he suffered malnutrition due to lack of quality food – on one occasion she claimed he was given one plain potato waffle for his evening meal.

She said: "I recently caught a young carer abusing him in his room at night, caught in the act by myself and my 87-year-old mum at 11.15pm just after he had a fall.

"She didn't know mum and I were standing behind her where we saw her yelling in my dad's face as he was sat, sad on his bed in his pyjamas with broken arm, bash on head and bruised ribs.

"He'd had no dinner or supper."

On another occasion she said staff left her dad "half naked on his bed" with two windows open when it was snowing outside and his sensor mat unplugged from the wall and his bedroom door closed "so nobody would hear his cries for help".

She continued: "My dad, who is very sociable, is encouraged not to leave his room. Sits alone all day! My mum and I visit him daily.

"Staff have him unshaved, no teeth, food over him and on his shoes, looking very scruffy when he likes to look smart and tidy.

"He is very sad, lonely and depressed. There are no daily activities or wellbeing at all! No stimulation or companionship."

The woman claimed she had also witnessed staff risking cross-contamination by not wearing / changing PPE when going into the rooms of residents who had infections and illnesses.

Gordon Park, whose mother Janet is resident at the home, told our sister title, the Dunfermline Press, he has also submitted a list of complaints.

He said: "If all the issues were to be chronologically catalogued since the new management started this would create a spine-chilling read that Stephen King would possibly be interested in.

"Just ask yourself the question, 'Is this what you want when you get old?'"

Mr Park said that, in one incident, his mother was hurt by a carer and suffered bruising on her legs.

His brother, who was on his way to visit her room at the time, said he heard their mother in distress and shouting for the carer to stop, but when he went to discuss the matter with the manager the door was "slammed in his face".

On another occasion, Mr Park said his mum's call assistance buzzer was not answered for more than an hour.

Both families heavily criticised the management of Alexander House, raised issues of cleanliness and said there was a shortage of trained staff – he said his mum was left "hanging like a sack of potatoes" as one carer tried to operate a hoist that requires two carers.

They also accused the home of falsifying food and fluid intake records, with the two families saying their loves ones were not fed properly and their weight losses were not properly recorded or acted upon, and ignoring their complaints.

Mr Park added there was a "limited choice" of food and that it offers "very little nutritional value", while he said his mum was not receiving routine personal care and regular washes.

Both families also complained that, when there was a recent outbreak of COVID in the home, this was not communicated and there were no signs in place or masks for visitors.

Alexander House is run by Holmes Care Ltd, who took it over in December 2021, and complaints have been made to the Care Inspectorate for the second time in just over a year.

In March last year the company was given 48 hours to clean up its act after inspectors found that the safety of residents in the home had been "compromised", with serious concerns about cleanliness, insufficient infection control, poorly-trained staff and people being spoken to in an "unacceptable" manner.

This week Holmes Care, who have a head office in Essex, issued an apology while the Care Inspectorate confirmed they were looking into the complaints.

The owners of Alexander House nursing home issued an apology and said that all of the complaints made are being investigated.

A spokesperson for Holmes Care Ltd said: "The health, safety and wellbeing of residents will always be our top priority, and we all take feedback about the quality of care in our home extremely seriously.

"We apologise if, on this occasion, the high standards of care that we pride ourselves on, and that residents deserve and expect, fell short.

"As soon as we were made aware of the allegations, we opened an investigation into the concerns raised, and we are fully committed to working with all the relevant authorities to implement any and all improvements, should the investigation conclude that they are required.”

A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate confirmed: "Concerns have been raised with us about this care service.

"If we uphold complaints we publish the outcomes on our website.

"Anyone with a concern about a service can contact us on 0345 600 9527."

Gordon Park, whose mother Janet is a resident at Alexander House, was also critical of Fife Council's social work and adult protection teams for failing to step in and take action.

A spokesperson from Fife Health and Social Care Partnership told the Press: "We do not discuss individuals for reasons of confidentiality.

"We are continuing to work closely with Alexander House and the Care Inspectorate."