A dying man has slammed the company responsible for his care needs and their “scatter-gun approach”.
Michael Laycock suffers from Motor Neurone Disease (MND), and considers his plethora of carers “angels” – but has been left frustrated by the inconsistent staffing.
The 73-year-old, of Nairn, wants the reassurance of carers knowing his individual needs.
Communicating via computer since the loss of his voice, Mr Laycock said: “Even though they provide a forecast of carers who might attend, we never know who’ll walk in.
“Because of their scatter-gun approach in which ‘one care package suits all needs’ I’m sick of writing instructions for new faces who are not on the rota often enough to learn the routine.
“I’ve asked several times over the months if they can improve the rota. The most recent reason was that four carers were off sick.”
He added: “I dread to think what will happen when I can no longer write and have to rely on ‘eye-gaze’ computer technology.”
The carers are employed by Highland Home Carers Ltd (HHC), which took over when Highland health chiefs opted to hire out the service.
Managing director Stephen Pennington said he had been unaware of the issue until he was contacted by the Press and Journal.
He said: “I have apologised to Mr Laycock in an e-mail.
“I have since gathered information and I see there are issues to be sorted. I will get on with it, on Monday.”
NHS Highland area manager Jean Pierre Sieczkarek said: “NHS Highland is committed to supporting people in the community and expects a high standard of care from its partner agencies.
“We’re unable to comment on individual cases but where clients are concerned about the level of their support we are in continuous dialogue with the service provider to ensure a consistent high quality of care.”
Mr Laycock’s son Jamie is currently in training for a sponsored 1,865-mile cycle ride from Canada to Mexico in aid of MND Scotland and to raise awareness. To find out more visit
http://vancouvertomexicobybike.blogspot.co.uk/p/why.html