The daughter of an Alzheimer’s sufferer who has been stuck in hospital for a year after going in for three to four weeks for “assessment” has said Oban’s care situation is in crisis.
Mairi Gilfillan is almost 40 miles from her family in the dementia assessment Knapdale Ward at Mid Argyll Hospital in Lochgilphead.
A place has been available for her at Eadar Glinn, in her home town of Oban, since July – but her daughter Elaina MacDonald has been told that her mother can’t move in until a special chair has arrived.
The distance has meant that Miss MacDonald can’t visit her mother as much as she would like and in the year they have been apart, Ms Gilfillan has deteriorated to the point that she can no longer walk without the help of two carers and can only repeat what others say.
Miss MacDonald, 36, said: “I just feel that any relationship that I could have had has gone because of these delays.
“First they told me the chair had been ordered. Then they said it hadn’t. I’ve now been told it has but we still don’t have a date for her coming back to Oban.
“Why can’t they take a chair from Knapdale to Eadar Glinn until hers is here? The Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) in Argyll and Bute is a joke. It has been a nightmare since the word go.
“Without the support of Councillor Julie McKenzie I would be lost.”
Ms Gilfillan, 64, went to live in the Lynn of Lorne, operated by private company McKenzie Care at Benderloch, in June 2016 after repeatedly falling and injuring herself.
Her daughter made a complaint about lack of staff at the home to the Care Inspectorate, which was upheld. Last month the home was told to make “urgent improvements”.
Miss MacDonald said: “The care situation in Oban is in crisis. I think people need to be made aware of it.”
A spokesman for the HSCP said: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality however with regard to any discharge from hospital to a care setting the HSCP would work closely with the patient’s family to ensure that the individual concerned has the appropriate care package in place to meet their needs.
“Anyone with concerns about any aspect of the service can contact argyllandbutehscp.feedback@nhs.net”
Oban-based Councillor Julie McKenzie has been in touch with Ms Gilfillan’s family since she stayed at Lynn of Lorne.
Councillor McKenzie said: “Elaina asked me to get involved with this more than a year ago. I am absolutely appalled that Mairi has had to stay so far away from home for such a length of time.
“I have seen the emotional impact this has had on Elaina and her family.
“The HSCP is well aware of Mairi’s case and the fact that it has dragged on for so long is an absolute disgrace.
“The time has come for action.”
