Care home criticised in report

The Walter and Joan Gray care home in Scalloway has been described as unsafe and understaffed in a damning report from the Scottish Care Inspectorate.

While personal care needs are mostly met and rooms were found clean, staffing shortages have put residents at risk of infection, food poisoning and fire at the Church of Scotland facility, according to the report published on Friday.

Across five key factors the report — based on a surprise inspection in November – ranks the home’s service as “weak” while leadership and planning are “adequate”.

Across over a dozen pages the inspectors list medicine mistakes, untrained staff preparing unsafe food and limited access to fresh drinking water.

Inspectors also found broken fire doors and emergency plans which could have evacuated residents to parts of the home at a higher risk of flames. Those plans have since been updated, inspectors noted.

The care home’s manager, Sue Anderson, declined to comment. The Church of Scotland has been contacted for comment.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of The Shetland Times, out on Friday, 10th January.