THE manager of a care centre where residents were removed by the council and health board last week says ‘she has not slept’ since.

Ricki Bibi, who runs Wrexham Care Centre on Nant-Y-Gaer Road in Llay, says allegations which led to residents being transferred to other providers are “unsubstantiated” and were made by a ‘whistleblower’ who used to work at the home.

She is pleading with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) and Wrexham Council who removed the residents within 24 hours of terminating their contract with the provider on June 11, to give her a fair opportunity to prove the allegations wrong.

Speaking to the Leader, Ms Bibi says she has not slept in the week since the action was taken, and claims she not been given any indication there were any concerns, nor had any complaints relating to the allegations, from families who had relatives staying there.

The home is registered for people over 65 with dementia or mental infirmity with fees paid for by the local authority.

It provides 24 hour specialist psychiatric nursing care, provided by registered mental nurses and registered general nurses with extensive experience in caring for people with cognitive difficulties and challenging behaviours.

It was taken over by Ms Bibi and her partner Mohan Kuhananthan in 2016.

The Leader:

Mohan Kuhananthan and Ricki Bibi run the Wrexham Care Centre

She said: “We did a complete overhaul of the home, from floor to roof, and worked tirelessly with the CIW (Care Inspectorate for Wales) Wrexham Council and Betsi Cadwaladr, investing manpower and expenditure to bring it up to standard.

“We had a six monthly plan with the CIW and I was working 17 to 20 hour days and we take on residents with the most complex needs.

“What happened last week was a result of whistleblowing from an ex-member of staff over several weeks. Claims range from residents not wearing shoes to cleanliness and I utterly refute these allegations, but am not being given the chance to disprove them.

“The health board did a quality assurance visit just 20 days before the whistleblowing and we came out of that compliant.

“We have been visited by health professionals 50 times in the last year, were nowhere near a critical escalation in concerns, and whatever we are told to act upon, we do instantly.

“It feels like we have not been given a fair opportunity to run this home, and I haven’t slept for the last six days. I keep thinking about ‘what could I have done to prevent this’, and there’s nothing.”

Ms Bibi says that given the complex needs of the residents, she was shocked that they were moved so quickly as they would need to be assessed and would not all be suitable to be put into shared rooms.

The Leader:

Wrexham Care Centre, Nant-y-Gaer Road, Llay. Picture: Google 

She said: “I’ve had absolutely no complaints from the families of our residents, many of whom are here every day.

“When we were told the contract was being cancelled we were asked not to tell staff, or approach the families and they were distraught when they found out.

“One family has told me it’s a witch-hunt, that they see what we do on a daily basis and have experienced other care homes which are awful. I have agency staff who say it’s one of the best places they have ever worked.

“I have a letter here from a family member who say their father is well dressed, clean shaven, his room is clean, the toilets are clean his bedroom is always clean.

“The day after the decision was made to terminate the contract, four ambulances turned up to the care home to take away elderly people with dementia who might not have been in a vehicle for years, to a place they have never been before. Yet it normally takes two to 12 weeks to move a resident into a home. They were not prepared to be moved from their home.

The Leader:

“Because their fees are paid by the council, the families didn’t get any choice in the matter.

“We never saw this coming. If we had been given any indication we needed to pull our socks up on anything, we would have done so.

“I’ve had meetings with the health board this week and have been told there is no appeals process, or arbitration.

“I’m still in shock. It was heart-wrenching for the staff to see the residents taken away. They were distraught.”

Despite the removal of residents last week, Ms Bibi says the home is staying open, can take in new residents and could vary its registration.

She said: “What has happened to us shows the vulnerability of providers - you can be found guilty before even being given the chance to prove yourself innocent. There are unscrupulous care providers out there but we are not one of them.

“We’re going to re-group, look at our options but the home is here to stay and we are looking to attract new families.”

Last week Wrexham Council and BCUHB released a joint statement which said: “Due to increasing concerns about the safety and wellbeing of residents at Wrexham Care Centre we have collectively taken the decision to terminate our contract with this provider.

“They have failed to provide quality healthcare and deliver sustainable change over a period of time, despite the support and guidance of local commissioners and BCUHB.

“In order to safeguard residents we are working towards a safe transfer of all residents to alternative accommodation within the next 24 to 48 hours.

“In the meantime, additional support is being provided to ensure residents’ care needs are met. We are looking for suitable accommodation for residents in an alternative care home or, for a short period, in a suitable community hospital.”

Ms Bibi says that anyone who has any concerns about the centre can contact her via email at area.rbch@gmail.com