NHS Highland has acquired a care home on Skye where ten residents died of Covid-19 from provider HC-One to secure resident safety.
The purchase of the Home Farm (pictured) in Portree has been secured with £900,000 of additional funding from the Scottish government.
The transfer of the care home to NHS Highland is due to take effect from November and will involve the transfer of staff into the employment of the NHS with improved terms and conditions.
Following inspections at the beginning of May which highlighted substandard living circumstances and quality of care, the Care Inspectorate applied to the courts for an interim suspension order and emergency cancellation of the care home’s registration under section 65 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.
NHS Highland has since provided significant levels of input to the care home to improve the standards of care and cleanliness for the residents and safeguard their wellbeing.
As a result, the Care Inspectorate were able to assess over subsequent months that the circumstances of care in Home Farm were much improved.
In response to this steady improvement evidenced in monitoring visits and inspections throughout July and August 2020, the Care Inspectorate ultimately took a decision to withdraw from the Emergency Cancellation application previously lodged with Inverness Sheriff Court.
“We have worked constructively with HC-One over the last number of weeks to improve the standards of care within the home, particularly in relation to managing infection control in a Covid-19 environment,” said NHS Highland chief executive Paul Hawkins.
“Securing the future of the home under the Highland Health and Social Care Partnership within the NHS will enable us to ensure these standards are maintained,” he added.
