VICTIMS OF CARE HOME BUNGLERS

Revealed: Residents aged 85 and 91 who died in panic evacuations

TWO pensioners who died following the bungled closures of their troubled care homes can be fully identified for the first time today.

For more than a month, officials refused to reveal Alfred Dodd’s name or how he and another resident, Winifred Lake, died.

And their families want to know why a damning inspection report from health watchdogs went unpublished for eight months. They said it could have flagged up serious problems at Merok Park in Surrey, and its sister site, nearby Grantley Court.

Mr Dodd, an 85-year-old grandfather, died of pneumonia barely 48 hours after being moved out of Merok Park on December 9, one of the coldest nights of the year. Mrs Lake, 91, died from hypertension apparently brought on by the stress of being relocated from Grantley Court with little notice on December 12.

Their families fear the huge upheaval tipped their loved ones – both dementia sufferers – over the edge. Neither the coroner, the town hall registration officer, police, county council nor the local NHS trust would reveal Mr Dodd’s name and other details of his case and that of Mrs Lake.

And they have refused to open inquests into

either death. Merok Park, which had the same owners as Grantley Court, was given a clean bill of health in January last year, even though families said it was a ‘hovel’ and neighbours reported screaming to the police.

Staff called for another inspection in September after raising concerns and the Care Quality Commission found an ‘overpowering’ smell of urine and patients forced to wash in cold water. But rather than replacing or overseeing the management until the residents could be re-homed, the watchdog suddenly ordered the home to close.

Residents were left shivering in their pyjamas on December 9 as Merok Park was shut and ambulances ordered by the council failed to turn up.

Family members were told about the move only hours earlier. Mr Dodd’s family accuse the CQC of closing the home at too little notice, causing immense upheaval.

The CQC last night apologised for the distress but said responsibility lay with the care homes’ owners and the local councils.

It insists it warned Surrey County Council four days before Merok Park was closed.

A council spokesman said: ‘When the Care Quality Commission informed us of its intention to serve a notice on this nursing home our role was to organise alternative homes for everyone.

‘Once the CQC’s court order was issued, forc- ing the residents to leave, this had all been arranged.’ Sutton Council said it was forced to act urgently after owners Soondressen and Maleenee Cooppen decided to close Grantley Court with just 72 hours’ notice.

Thought to have made £650,000 a year from each site, the Mauritian couple live in a £2.5million home in south-west London and drive a fleet of luxury cars. They allegedly ran the homes on a shoestring and have repeatedly declined to apologise, with Mrs Cooppen telling the Mail: ‘We are not interested.’ A Sutton Council spokesman said: ‘We absolutely did not want to disrupt the lives of older, vulnerable people. We completely sympathise with the families involved.’

Paul Burstow, a Liberal Democrat MP and former care minister, said: ‘The conditions at Grantley Court were shocking. The CQC were right to serve the notice to close the home. However, I am concerned that it took so long for the CQC to publish the report from its first inspection – they had already picked up problems and relatives deserved to know.’

Police are investigating unexplained injuries suffered by four dementia patients at Grantley Court.

Ambulances failed to turn up