Body waste stains have been left uncleaned for months in a Dundee centre for people with learning disabilities, a whistleblower has claimed.
The staff member passed on photos showing large yellow marks on flooring and brown specks splattered on walls at Carseview’s 10-bed Learning Disability Assessment Unit (LDAU), run by NHS Tayside.
The employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said colleagues had raised concerns about health and safety issues throughout the centre.
Damaged carpets and furniture have not been repaired, leading to employees suffering injuries, the worker alleged.
It was also claimed workers have reported flea bites in the mixed sex ward, which serves patients from Dundee, Angus and Perth.
The staff member said the issues had been ignored by health bosses because the unit is set to move to Murray Royal Hospital in Perth as part of a Tayside-wide redesign of mental health services.
Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership said health and safety issues were a priority and insisted there was no delay to planned maintenance on the ward.
The employee said: “I think it’s disgusting how people who are probably the most vulnerable members of our community are being allowed to stay in such conditions.
“A number of patients don’t have families to stand up for them and therefore they have been allowed to live in squalor.
“The staff within the ward have a hard enough job without having to do their job in a ward that is not fit for purpose. Staff are becoming unwell because of the environment.”
The allegations have been made ahead of the publication of the findings of an independent inquiry into the NHS Tayside-run Carseview centre.
Last summer it was revealed patients at the unit were being put at “significant risk” due to delayed discharge with more than 60% being kept in longer than necessary.
The employee said: “The stains have been there easily for the past three or four months and there have been similar issues for almost a year and a half.
“We have been due to move for months and due to the impending move to Perth they have stopped doing work on the ward.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership said: “Patient safety is our primary concern and all health and safety issues reported are dealt with as a priority.
“Cleanliness and hygiene are recognised as important therapeutic aspects of the patient’s experience together with ensuring a safe workplace for colleagues.
“There is no delay in any planned maintenance to the ward. There is an ongoing commitment to ensure that any routine repairs and maintenance reported by staff in the Learning Disability Assessment Unit are carried out in line with normal procedures.
“We have not received any report of staff injuries as a result of any health and safety issues and we take our responsibility to staff safety very seriously.”
