Care home owner ‘rude and confrontational’ – inquest
THE owner of a scandal-hit nursing home where seven residents died after suffering poor care was rude and confrontational with watchdog inspectors, an inquest has heard.
Dr Prana Das was “very rude and offensive” and the social care inspectors ended the meeting because he was becoming even more “angry, unreasonable and confrontational”.
An inquest in Newport is hearing evidence on the deaths of seven elderly residents at the Brithdir nursing home in New Tredegar between 2003 and 2005.
Some of them had suffered dehydration, malnourishment, and pressure sores.
Brithdir was closed in 2006, and its owner, Dr Das, suffered a brain injury in 2012, which meant he never stood trial for alleged failings in care. He died in January last year, aged 73.
Carole Reece Williams, who worked for the then Gwent Health Authority as a nurse assessor, told the inquest of a meeting she and two inspectors from Care Inspectorate Wales, John Powell and Alison Price, had at Brithdir with Dr Das in June 2003.
She said the meeting had been arranged at the request of Dr Das to discuss the registration of the home and its manager, Peter Smith.
“Throughout the meeting Mr Powell made several attempts to explain the registration process of the home and the manager,” Mrs Reece Williams said in a written statement.
“Despite his continuing efforts to explain and discuss with Dr Das, it was met by Dr Das talking over him.
“He wasn’t prepared to give Mr Powell time to explain, and neither was he prepared for Alison Price to explain or illustrate some of the concerns they had regarding the management and operation of Brithdir.
“Dr Das refused to accept or was unable to understand the registration process of the home and manager.
“This was despite John’s continuing and best efforts to explain the regulatory requirements of the Care Standards Act 2000.
“In fact, Dr Das was very rude and personalised, and was offensive towards John. John Powell remained professional and was not perturbed by the remarks made by Dr Das.
“Eventually the meeting was terminated by John Powell as Dr
Das was evidently becoming more angry, unreasonable and confrontational.
“There was no purpose in continuing the meeting because Dr Das was becoming more irate.
“John did give him the opportunity to carry on but because of his rude remarks we stopped the meeting and left.”
Mrs Reece Williams also recalled an occasion when she and Mrs Price carried out a pre-arranged inspection of the Holly House residential home, which was also owned by Dr Das, in June 2004.
“The home was a mess and it had been subject to 28 visits since the last inspection year as a result of concerns by Care Inspectorate Wales as regards the management, care and service delivery to the service users being accommodated,” she said.
“The overall impression gained by both inspectors was of a poorly managed service with apparent failure to give due regard to any notices of actions being issued by Care Inspectorate Wales.
“In addition, there were regular breaches of the staffing notice which was part of the home’s registration requirements under the Care Standards Act.
“All standards which were reviewed during the inspection process failed to meet the full regulatory requirement.”
Holly House later closed and many of the residents and staff were transferred to Brithdir, the hearing has previously been told.
The inquest is looking at the deaths of former Brithdir residents Stanley James, 89, June Hamer, 71, Stanley Bradford, 76, Evelyn Jones, 87, Edith Evans, 85, and William Hickman, 71.
A hearing into the death of a seventh resident, Matthew Higgins, 86, will be held following the conclusion of the other six.
The inquest continues.
FUNDING of £8.7m to repair and restore “the most iconic feature on Newport’s skyline” has been accepted by Newport council, subject to additional Welsh Government funding.
Newport’s Transporter Bridge will be restored and repaired using the National Lottery Heritage Funding of £8.7m, subject to the Welsh Government confirming match funding.
The cabinet has also agreed to accept liability of £365,000 for the unconfirmed match-funding to provide the heritage fund with the reassurance they need before granting permission to start the project.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting, Cllr Debbie Harvey said it had been a “mammoth task”.
She said: “It has taken a little over four years to get where we are today.
“This is absolutely fantastic. “It’s a phenomenal application that’s been granted to us in Newport.”
If given the go-ahead by the heritage fund, the funding will repair and restore the Transporter Bridge as well as provide a new visitor centre.
The visitor centre will have a shop, toilets, exhibition gallery and cafe.
Visitors will also have a chance to ride the gondola across the Usk.
The council is also waiting for the Welsh Government to formally approve a £1.5m grant from the tourism investment support scheme, which will need to be in place for the heritage fund to allow work to start.
£1m has been allocated from the council’s capital budget to provide a portion of the necessary matchfunding.
The council aims to start work on the site in May, subject to the relevant permissions.
The project is expected to take 12 months and should be completed in September 22, ready for reopening in spring 2023.