A vulnerable Fife pensioner was left in tears after carers twice failed to turn up to ensure he got to bed.
Veteran Jimmy Smith, from Windygates, was left to spend two long uncomfortable dark nights in his armchair twice inside a week because no-one from Fife Council’s tuck in service arrived.
He could not raise the alarm as strokes have affected his speech, making it impossible to use the community alarm system.
His disgusted daughter Angela was completely oblivious to her beloved dad’s plight or she would have gone to his aid.
She now has no confidence in a new system for home carers of the elderly in Fife.
The shocking incidents, on September 26 and 30, left the 88-year-old widower in tears.
“No tuck in carer attended, resulting in him sitting in his chair all night with the TV on,” Angela said.
“No-one called me to tell me that they could not attend, so I was unaware of the situation until the following day or I could have gone along and sorted him out.
“I have no confidence in the system – one night was bad enough but for it to happen a second time is unbelievable
“I am disgusted and don’t know what to do now to ensure my dad has the care he requires.”
Angela added she had no gripes with the service until now, praising the home carers, but blamed the introduction of the new electronic scheduling system for the massive blunder.
“This system is going to result in more expense for Fife Council – someone needs to take control by considering the feelings of the clients as well as their own staff who have been treated very badly.”
“They encourage people to stay in their own home and have this care, but they have to provide a decent service.
“I’ve no confidence in it.”
The council admitted it had fallen short of its standards and the ex-RAF man had suffered an “unacceptable level of service”.
Home Care service manager Cindy Graham said: “We apologise for the missing night visits to Mr Smith and any upset or distress this caused to him and his family.
“This is an unacceptable level of service and we’re disappointed to have fallen short of our standards on these two occasions.
“It is never our intention to leave someone without care at any time of the day.”
The council blamed an error with the new scheduling system and a higher rate of staff absence that week and said an investigation had been launched to find out why the family were not notified of the disruption to Mr Smith’s agreed care package.
She said the new system was “performing well” in other areas and the service was working to resolve the issues flagged up.
