Llanyravon Court Care in Cwmbran ordered to make improvements

The man said his mother, who lives at Llanyravon Court Care home in Llanfrachfa Way, had developed ulcerated sores on her legs, and was left on her own for more than four hours.

A letter sent to residents, family members and others seen by the Argus said the 53-bedroom home, run by provider Golden Care, had been issued with an improvement notice by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) following an inspection on Thursday, September 15, and another five days later.

The home has been ordered to take action to improve issues around cleanliness, kitchen hygiene, and staffing levels, as well as medication management, and governance systems and processes, by the end of October.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his mother's identity, said her condition had "deteriorated so much" since she first went to live there between four and six weeks ago.

Ulcerated sores (Image: Anonymous)

Ulcerated sores 

“The other day mum was saying that she was frightened," he said. "She was in a lot of distress.

“It’s in her care plan that she should be monitored every hour, I’ve been there for four hours, and I haven’t seen anyone.

“It’s dangerous for my mum to be left alone for that long because she’s on oxygen and she’s left gasping for breath."

He added: “Her skin was intact when she went in there and it’s not anymore.

“She has open ulcerated sores on her legs - it has been complete neglect.

“One mug they gave to my mum for tea was filthy – I told them to never serve her tea in that state again.”

The mug the resident was served with (Image: Anonymous)

The mug the resident was served with

The home was also issued a food hygiene rating of one in August, with inspectors saying "major improvement" was needed in management of food safety, and improvement was also needed in hygienic food handling.

The man said: “In each room there is a call bell – as soon as that bell is notified it starts a digital counter, the aim is that the call should be answered in five minutes, but the waits can be up to 45 minutes.

Waiting times (Image: Anonymous)

Waiting times

“I went into the kitchen one evening to make tea for me and my mother and there was a bread crate filled with ready meals.

“There was the same number of ready meals as there are rooms and they weren’t refrigerated – they should have been frozen.

“I was that concerned I got there early the following morning and the meals were still left out – they had an expiry date of two years in advance - there is no doubt in my mind that they intended to use those meals.

Ready meals (Image: Anonymous)

Ready meals 

“I have no confidence in them anymore.

“I want people to think twice before putting their loved ones in here.”

Senior managers from Llanyravon Court will meet with residents, families and representatives today, Thursday, at 6.30pm, alongside Torfaen County Borough Council and the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, to discuss the concerns raised by CIW.

When the Argus contacted the home to discuss the concerns, they invited us down to have a look around and speak to residents.

Speaking on Wednesday, director Neil Reid said: “We are holding a Regulation 73 meeting today, which we have every three months. This is where the business support interview colleagues and residents and the feedback goes into an action plan.

“The inspection was disheartening but we are confident that we can achieve compliance.”

Outside the care home (Image: Street View)

Outside the care home

One resident who teaches people how to dance said: “There's nothing not to be happy about living here.

“The people are ever so kind; I got a birthday present and I am picking a colour scheme for my room.”

Another resident expressed that the home is nice and peaceful and thanked the staff.