Two members of staff have been suspended at an island care home amid allegations of a resident being held down and vaccinated against her will.
And the Care Inspectorate warned that unless there is marked improvement at Millport Care Centre it will cancel the home’s registration.
The centre, owned by Sanctuary Care Limited, is registered to provide care for up to 27 adults with learning or physical disabilities.
An insider at the centre on the Isle of Cumbrae claimed she witnessed three members of staff pin a woman down while a fourth ordered a nurse to give her the Covid jab through her clothes.
The patient, believed to be in her 50s, has mental health issues.
But the insider said the incident is just the “tip of the iceberg” and there were other concerns about bullying and intimidation of staff.
She told how she witnessed one woman supervise three other members of staff “hold the client down and made the nurse jag her through her clothing because the client was so distressed”.
The insider said: “It is horrendous what is going on just now. The door was open so people walking past saw what was going on. The nurse said she wasn’t comfortable injecting her like that but she was told, ‘Just hurry up and do it’. I think she was a bit intimidated.”
The source also alleged there was “systematic” physical and verbal abuse of residents and bullying of staff. She said: “I am so worried about what is going on. I am worried it will be hushed up.”
But she said several staff had spoken to the Care Inspectorate in confidence about what they had seen.
After the Record approached the Care Inspectorate about the vaccination allegations, its spokeswoman said: “We are aware of concerns raised. We recently inspected the service and issued an improvement notice on April 2 that details areas of care that need to improve.
“We continue to monitor the service and are liaising closely with the local health and social care partnership. Anyone with a concern about a care service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”
In a report for the Scottish Government on recent inspections, the Care Inspectorate revealed it held an unannounced inspection at the home on March 24 and 26.
It said: “We identified significant concerns about the care people received and issued an improvement notice on April 2.
"This related to the management of stress or distress and incidents that were not reported appropriately, including concern about staff conduct.”
The report stated: “While some staff were skilled and engaged well with people, other staff were not always responsive to individuals’ needs. Management oversight of staff practice was poor. We identified risks to people that were not appropriately managed.
“We identified significant weaknesses in the performance of this service that compromised or had the potential to compromise people’s safety and outcomes.”
It rated the home “weak” in terms of people’s health and wellbeing, infection prevention and control practices and staffing arrangements.
In a letter sent to Sanctuary Care, the Inspectorate warned: “The Care Inspectorate hereby gives you notice that unless there is a significant improvement in provision of the service, it intends to make a proposal to cancel your registration.”
And it said by May 12 they must “promote the health, welfare and safety of people receiving care and protect them from harm”.
Included in this must be that all staff “demonstrate both confidence and competence in recognising and reporting abuse in line with policy and best practice”.
The inspectorate also insists the care home must ensure “people receiving care must benefit from a culture of openness, transparency and continuous improvement, with the service having robust quality assurance and whistleblowing processes in place”.
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A spokesperson for Sanctuary Care said: “While we are disappointed at this news and sorry the care has fallen short of the standards we expect, we have taken immediate action to address some of the concerns and are working closely with North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership and the Care Inspectorate to make improvements to the quality of care.
“We remain committed to delivering a service that is centred on our residents’ wellbeing and happiness, and can reassure their families that our staff are working to ensure everyone at the home receives the high standard of care they deserve.”
NHS Ayrshire & Arran, for whom the nurse is believed to work, would only say the nurse did not work for the local hospital on the island, adding: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment any further at this time.”
