Care concern over woman, 92, left alone on floor by company

A care company is under scrutiny after it left a 92-year-old woman alone on the floor when she fell.

1st Grade Care in Barry is accused of ordering a carer to leave Doris Jones to go to another call before an ambulance or relative arrived.

The care worker told BBC's Week in Week Out she had challenged the order, but was told "it's just the job".

Ist Grade Care said it was investigating the case. The care inspectorate is inspecting the company.

The case from 2013 was brought to the local council's attention by the programme.

The care worker, who did not want to be named, said: "I rang the paramedics straight away and all the time she's on the floor. I then rang the office to say my lady is on the floor and was told to leave the call within the time I was allocated and go to my next call.

"I asked if somebody could do my next call for me because I didn't feel happy leaving her, and I was told no. I had to leave her and to leave the door open for the paramedics."

Mrs Jones's son said the family had had many concerns with 1st Grade, including missed and shortened calls.

When the pensioner came out of hospital she was placed with another care company at the family's request. Mrs Jones died last year.

1st Grade Care was set up in 2011 by former property developer Michael Poole. It also operates in Cardiff and Pembrokeshire.

In a report published by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), the company was said to be putting service users in the Vale of Glamorgan in "unnecessary and significant risk to their health, safety and wellbeing due to a lack of sufficient training for a high percentage of staff".

The company was also served with a non-compliance notice and the CSSIW has been back to re-inspect. It is expecting to publish a new report by the end of the month.

Marie Perry, from Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, has Parkinson's disease. Her husband, George, said she needed help to go to the bathroom four times a day but care visits were regularly late or missed.

This meant Mr Perry, who has undergone major heart surgery, has to lift his wife and take her himself.

He says he is angry over the experience and does not understand why the authorities have not investigated the company earlier.

"I don't know how much control the local authority has over them," he said.

"It's not being properly policed otherwise they would have lost their contract some time ago."

1st Grade Care said: "We accept that we had areas to improve on especially in time management. We've worked hard over the last few months to put systems and procedures in place.

"We have introduced added monitoring of rota systems in offices from head office. There has also been investment in a better call monitoring system - to closely monitor arrival and departure of care workers."

Week in Week Out, Tuesday 22:35 BST, BBC1 Wales.