MANAGEMENT at a Helensburgh-based care at home agency say they feel “completely let down” by the sector’s watchdog after a scathing inspection report failed to take account of the “extreme challenges” the industry is facing.

Joan’s Carers, which has an office in West King Street, was graded as ‘adequate’ for how well it supports people’s wellbeing and ‘weak’ for its level of care and support during the Covid-19 pandemic following an unannounced inspection in October.

The family-run business was set up by Joan Graham in 2000 and also operates in Dumbarton, the surrounding areas, and Oban, but a spokesperson for the company told the Advertiser this week that their struggles during the pandemic have not been taken into consideration.

They said: “The issue that our care at home company is facing along with all other care at home companies across the UK is recruitment is at an all time low, with little to no applicants.

“This, coupled with Covid-19 isolations and more recently the increase in positive cases within the community and constant staff availability changes are making covering care extremely difficult.

“Our company, along with others in the local authority, now has no choice but to hand back work to the councils in a bid to manage better staff consistency and reduce the extreme pressure that all involved in care at home are under.

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“I feel that the magnitude of this situation is not being fully highlighted to the public and service users’ families by the media and it is only now that it is affecting hospital discharges that we are seeing coverage on the news.

“We feel completely let down by the Care Inspectorate as they have not fully taken into consideration the extreme challenges we are all facing in this industry and will in turn result in many more companies like myself handing back more services to their local authorities, resulting in more service users being left without care or families having to step in.”

Concerns highlighted in the report include poor communication with service users due to inconsistencies in staff, and inadequate recording of Covid tests among staff which had “the potential to put people at risk”.

The spokesperson added: “We would like to highlight to all of our carers and office team that the grading in this report in no way reflects the amount of hard work, long hours and extreme pressure they have all been experiencing in the last 18-24 months.

“We as a company fully appreciate their understanding and the commitment that they have shown during a very difficult time.”