Home Farm – public meeting to discuss Portree care home’s future

A public meeting has been arranged to examine the future of Home Farm in Portree. It’s being organised by the Save Portree Hospital campaign group.

The care home has been given until August to make changes after a damning report from the Care Inspectorate. It criticised a “toxic work culture” and highlighted staff shortages.

Neil Campbell from Save Portree Hospital told Radio Skye:

“When the NHS took over (Home Farm) in 2020, we knew the old private company had problems and it was in serious danger. We thought it would be good from then on with a huge back up from NHS Highland and they would come in and make sure Home Farm survived.

“At that time we were looking at 40 beds. NHS Highland did refurbishments inside the building – I think it’s still ongoing, they’ve got a long way to go – and we’re down to 25 beds. That’s hugely concerning when you think of all the homes that were around Skye.”

The meeting is on 3 August at the Church of Scotland Hall in Portree.

A spokesperson for NHS Highland said:

“We recognise that the Care Inspectorate has concluded that further work is required to fully meet all of the requirements set out in the Improvement Notice for Home Farm Care Home.

“Since the inspection, we have taken extensive action to strengthen leadership, governance, staffing oversight, clinical support and quality assurance within the home. We have also increased support for staff, recruited additional personnel and continued work to improve the care environment. While we have made progress, we accept that there is more to do and we are fully committed to delivering the remaining improvements.

“We welcome the ongoing scrutiny of the Care Inspectorate and will continue to work closely with residents, families, staff and our partners to ensure Home Farm provides the safe, compassionate and high-quality care that people have a right to expect.

“The safety, wellbeing and experience of residents remain our highest priority.”

Listen to the full interview with Neil Campbell below.

Home Farm criticised for ‘severely inadequate’ staffing levels

Home Farm has been criticised over what inspectors have described as “severely inadequate” staffing levels and a “toxic and unsupportive” workplace culture.

The Care Inspectorate carried out an unannounced inspection in May and has now published its findings.

Inspectors rated leadership as “unsatisfactory”, saying there was no consistent management presence and that accidents and safeguarding concerns were not always reported or dealt with properly.

They also found the home was heavily reliant on agency staff, with workers often covering excessive hours and sometimes skipping breaks. On some occasions, staffing levels were described as “severely inadequate”, putting residents’ safety at risk.

The report also says rooms designed for residents were inappropriately being used as staff accommodation.

The Care Inspectorate has ordered NHS Highland, which runs the home, to make improvements by 1 August this year.

Home Farm cares for up to 35 people. Eleven residents died during a serious Covid outbreak in 2020. It was operated by HC One at the time.

An NHS Highland spokesperson said:

“We want to reassure people that we have taken this situation seriously and immediately implemented an improvement plan to address the issues raised to ensure we meet the recommendations of the Care Inspectorate. This included additional experienced staffing, leadership support and a review of the physical environment to ensure safe and consistent care is maintained.

“We are in direct contact with residents, their families and staff and are fully committed to making the necessary improvements as quickly as possible.”