The daughter of an OAP suffering from dementia found wandering the streets in his slippers has spoken of her outrage after care home staff claimed he was still safe in bed. John Gibb, 75, was a resident at the Westerfield Care Home in Paisley when he managed to escape the building in May 2022.
He was later found wandering in the dark by a couple who took him into their home and contacted police. Daughter Joanne Meikle took her father home before contacting the care home, who told her he was still in bed.
Joanne, 51, has been left outraged by the incident and other failings in her dad's care. She has vowed that he will never return to the home, the Daily Record reports.
Joanne said: "Dad was found wandering by a couple just after 10pm at night. It would have taken him almost an hour to get to where he was and he would have had to cross a number of busy roads.
"Thankfully the couple took him in because he was only wearing slippers and a cardigan. They called the police who eventually traced me.
"I took him back to my house and he was cold and disorientated. But I got him settled, then I called the home. I asked them how my dad was and a staff member immediately told me he was fine and asleep in bed. I asked them if they wanted to check that - because he was actually sitting in my home.
"At that point the person I was talking to started screaming and shouting. They had no idea he was gone."
The care home has never been able to explain how John managed to get through two key-coded doors before making his way outside at night. But the incident is just one of a number of complaints Joanne has raised with industry watchdog the Care Inspectorate, who described the case as "distressing".
John was returned to the home for a short time before another upsetting episode led to him being admitted to hospital. He was moved to a new top-floor room for his safety, away from people he knew at the home, but Joanne said this left her dad confused and upset.
Then in October last year, staff ran out of one of John's vital medications which led to him becoming agitated. Joanne added: "Westerfield managed to run out routine medication for dad that should have been on repeat prescription.
"They failed to notice this, so dad went five days without that medication. The result of having that meant he became agitated.
"A carer took him to get changed alone, but he objected to this and lifted his arm to get away. The carer's glasses were caught and broke.
"The home then got a doctor out and he arranged for dad to be detained under the mental health act. Dad was admitted to hospital at midnight that night, despite being sound asleep.
"When dad arrived at the hospital, he was calm and easily managed. The hospital staff could not understand why he had been detained. He has been in hospital ever since."
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Joanne said John's family have now "lost all trust" in the home and that she will never send her dad back to Westerfield. She continued: "My dad is such a lovely man and he would never hurt anyone and that is what has made this whole thing so upsetting. Dealing with it has been hell.
"We are trying to find him a new home because there is no way we would think of sending my dad back there now. It would be terrifying for us because we wouldn't know if he was safe and being cared for. We just need to hope somewhere else becomes available that we can trust and feel that dad is safe."
A spokesperson for Handsale Care Ltd, who run the care home, said: "We can confirm that a complaint was investigated by the Care Inspectorate and we have worked closely with them and the Local Authority to prevent reoccurrence in future.”
Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership added: "We are aware of this case and can confirm that we have been working with all parties to try to achieve a satisfactory outcome.”
A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: "This was a distressing case and our thoughts are with those affected. We investigated the concern that was raised with us thoroughly and considered all the information given to us carefully.
"We have upheld a complaint and identified four areas for improvement. We will carry out further monitoring to check on progress to ensure that the service makes the necessary improvements."
