Several staff members at a Fife care home where it was alleged a resident was abused and neglected are no longer working there.
The owner of Lunardi Court Care Home, in Cupar, said there had been “serious human errors” and blamed some employees for letting down an elderly person in their care.
Following an internal investigation by Four Seasons Health Care, it confirmed that several staff members had “left its employment”.
A suspension has also recently been lifted by Fife Council on new placements at the Robertson Road facility.
Lunardi Court Care Home was investigated by the Care Inspectorate following claims that an 88-year-old man was left sitting in a chair all night and suffered bruising to his shoulder.
It was also alleged the resident, who died two days after being admitted to hospital in July last year, had not been washed for a week, his requests to use the toilet were ignored and kitchen staff were not informed of his dietary requirements.
News of the complaint from his daughter emerged in February shortly after a Care Inspectorate report was published rating the home’s management as weak.
A Four Seasons spokesman said: “We were very concerned that the care of this resident last year was well below the standards that we expect to provide and we were sorry for the distress that this caused to his family.
“In addition to co-operating with the Care Inspectorate we conducted our own internal investigation and it is apparent that there were some serious human errors and that policies and procedures we have in place to support quality of care were not followed by some members of our staff, who let down the person in their care and their colleagues in our care team.
“As a result of our internal investigation we took disciplinary action where appropriate.
“Some staff who were thought to be central to the concern left our employment.”
The spokesman also said all recommendations for improvement made by the Care Inspectorate had since been implemented and all staff were now trained to above required levels.
A support plan was put in place for the care team and further supervision and checks introduced.
The council placed a ban on new residents being placed at there while the investigation was undertaken but confirmed it had recently lifted it due to improvements made.
A report to its north east Fife area committee said: “The care home has put together a detailed action plan to address the concerns raised through the inspection report and also address any outcomes or actions from the adult protection investigations, working towards an improvement plan for the care home.
“Representatives from the social work service and the care home have met regularly to discuss progress and the actions being taken.
“The care home’s action plan and progress continues to be closely monitored.”
Councillors were also told that a review was conducted to ensure that existing residents were at no risk and that no one was removed from the home.
The Care Inspectorate upheld numerous parts of the resident’s daughter’s complaint.
