An investigation has been called for to examine what happened to the Balhousie care home in Huntly to cause it to “spiral out of control”.
The operator surrendered its licence in March hours before it was due to appear in court to answer a Care Inspectorate application to cancel its registration.
It came after repeated demands to make improvements and years of concerns raised by families with loved ones there.
Balhousie blamed “substation recruitment and retention challenges” for the issues at its care home in Huntly, adding national pressures had been felt more strongly locally.
Now Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnettt says “shocking circumstances” led to the decline of the care home and is calling for an investigation to question why action was not taken sooner to demand improvements.
What happened to Balhousie in Huntly?
The Care Inspectorate graded the care at Balhousie in Huntly as “weak” twice last year, before finally ranking it as “unsatisfactory” in February this year – just weeks before the operator surrendered its registration.
It took the step of temporarily closing 12 beds in its dementia unit as it struggled to make the improvements asked of it.
In the meantime, families spoke out about the “unbelievable neglect” their loved ones were suffering from.
Mr Burnett wants to know why warning signs did not lead to more drastic action sooner and has called for a Scottish Government investigation.
He said: “These unacceptable failures were allowed to spiral out of control over a long period of time.
“These concerns were raised by the families of many residents at the care home and resulted in a large-scale investigation taking place over two years until Balhousie voluntarily withdrew their licence earlier this year.
“My constituents would like an investigation to take place into why the poor level of care provided by Balhousie was allowed to continue for such a long time, despite numerous improvement notices issued containing the same themes and failures.”
What was care like at Balhousie?
Aberdeenshire’s health and social care partnership took over the running of Balhousie in Huntly after the operator surrendered its licence.
Before that, Care Inspectorate reports laid bare the shocking conditions for residents who lived there.
Inspectors described residents “sat for long periods of time disengaged” with some often falling asleep due to a lack of activity.
It added that some effort was made to support individuals with a meaningful activity but this was an “infrequent occurrence”.
The Care Inspectorate also demanded improvements were made in record systems to show medication was being properly administered by staff with the necessary training.
A spokeswoman for Balhousie Care Group said: “As a responsible provider of care in Scotland, we have at all times been open and transparent about the specific local challenges we faced at Huntly Care Home.
“Throughout the entire period, we worked closely with the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership, and other relevant authorities, to keep them up to date with the actions we were taking, which included the investment of significant time and resources to recruit and retain a dedicated and skilled staff team.
“Despite our best efforts we were unable to overcome these local challenges. Our absolute priority was and has always been the health, safety and wellbeing of our residents, and every action we have taken has been in their best interests.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: ”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The safety, protection, and wellbeing of residents in care homes is our priority and we have clear standards for the quality of care expected of services.
“Everyone has the right to safe, compassionate care which meets their needs and respects their rights and urgent action should be taken wherever issues are identified.
“We worked closely with the Care Inspectorate and the health and social care partnership (HSCP) to ensure standards were being met at the former Balhousie Huntly Care Home and to maintain consistency for residents when the HSCP took over the management of it.”
