A worried relative has hit out at a care group’s plans for nursing staff changes in two Wishaw nursing homes.
The worried woman contacted Lanarkshire Live following the consultation exercise by Thistle Healthcare which would see peripatetic nurses covering several care homes in Lanarkshire including Netherton and Morningside, as well as Greenhills in Biggar, rather than having nursing staff based in the individual homes.
One woman, who asked not to be named, contacted us following a meeting with Thistle Healthcare staff.
The woman, whose mother is a resident at Netherton, told us : “It’s totally ridiculous.
"We are paying for my mum to be in a nursing home because she needs 24-hours a day, seven days per week.
“That’s the reason we decided on Netherton for my mum because of her dementia.
“To me it’s purely a cost-cutting exercise. It’s being portrayed as a consultation but to me the decision has already been made.
“They are just ticking the box speaking to the families.
“How can a nurse cover so many care homes? Morningside and Netherton are relatively close together, but what happens if they are down in Biggar?
“The nurse would then have a decision to make regarding treatment
“It was also confirmed at the latest meeting that GPs haven’t even been consulted in this exercise.
“Everyone in these homes need nursing care and that’s not going to happen.”
Lanarkshire Live understands the reason behind the change is to reduce the use of agency nursing staff.
There will be an off-duty rota which will have the nurse visiting each home during the shift times.
There will be five or six peripatetic nurses, senior peripatetic nurse overseeing by clinical lead.
Staff will have a mobile phone for 24 hour access to the nurse.
A spokesperson for Thistle Healthcare said: “In response to the ongoing national shortage of nurses we are consulting with families about using our nursing staff across several of our homes in Lanarkshire to ensure we always have qualified nurses available to all our residents.
“As part of the plans, we would also upskill our existing senior carers to complement our nursing provision and maintain our existing high quality of care.
“We are very encouraged that the overwhelming majority of families have been supportive of our innovative approach, but discussions remain at an early stage and further consultation with local and healthcare authorities including the Care Inspectorate would take place before any such changes were implemented.
“The safety and wellbeing of our residents, is, as always, our number one priority.”
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