A CARE worker who allegedly abused elderly residents both physically and emotionally, and the manager of the home who failed to take firm action against him have both resigned.

Both the employees at the Redcroft Care Home in Alexandra Road, Colwyn Bay, handed in their notice after being called in to interviews by the new owners of the business.

A spokesman for ARG Business Associates Ltd, who took over the home early this year, said they were shocked to learn of the complaints against the staff, some of which had been made by their colleagues and others by residents themselves or relatives.

The home is registered for 14 people aged 50 or over, and following a series of visits by Care Inspectorate Wales in March, shortly after ARG took over, five non-compliance notices were served.

The inspectors found that individuals were not safe or protected from abuse or neglect; individuals could not access treatment or advice from health care professionals as necessary; medicines were not stored or administered safely; a sufficient supply of medicines was not maintained and records were not kept secure.

The report of the investigation, which has just been published, states: “We found evidence of several safeguarding matters, including alleged emotional and physical abuse, which the manager had not referred to the local authority safe guarding team.”

Staff reported that three of the residents had told them that the same employee had shouted at them but when the manager was told she was dismissive, claiming that the individual “had made up the allegation for attention”.

Another resident told the inspectors that the same carer had “pinned them against the wall”, but when the inspectors questioned the manager she said she didn’t know she should have reported the allegation to the local authority.

Asked what steps she had taken to monitor the employee’s conduct, she commented: “I cannot be here 24 hours a day…..What can I do, I’m not here am I?”

The alleged incident of physical abuse was said to have occurred the day before the inspection but it was a resident, not the manager, who drew it to their attention.

“The impact on people using the service is they have not benefited from measures being in place to protect them from potential or actual harm,” says the report.

Staff also told the inspectors that the manager did not always arrange doctors’ appointments when needed and they sometimes had to beg her to contact a doctor. When told that a resident was unwell she did not usually go to see them herself.

On the issue of medication, the inspectors uncovered incidents of people having been without their prescribed medication for days, sometimes weeks, and some had suffered associated symptoms as a result.

One person did not have medication between January 13 and 22, but the manager had signed the chart to say it had been administered.

A director of the new company said he had found a box of 100 paracetamol tablets in the manager’s locked cabinet which had been prescribed for one of the residents. There were 75 tablets in the box on which the word “STAFF” had been written over the label.

A company spokesman said the issues highlighted in the report had all been dealt with immediately.

“We have invited the inspectors back to see for themselves that everything is now in order,” he said.

“Both the manager and the member of staff against whom the complaints were made were invited to attend interviews but both of them resigned. We have regular meetings with staff and discuss any concerns, and we also have regular medication audits,” he added.