There were no signs that the condition of a dementia sufferer had worsened on the night of his death, a nurse told a court yesterday.

Yvonne Marsh is a registered general nurse and had been working at the Mountleigh Care Home, New Bryngwyn Road, Newbridge on the night that Alan Sayers died.

The 52-year-old was found dead in his room on September 27, 2004. Seven people are on trial at Newport Crown Court charged with wilful neglect.

Mrs Marsh was second in command on the 8am to 8pm day shift. She said the home had a one-to-one care rota in place where a member of staff was with Mr Sayers 24 hours a day.

She added: “There was always a certain amount of risk with Alan as he was a very active person. But I saw him at 6.30pm on the night that he died and had no concerns about him at all.”

Care assisitant Gemma Wallace worked at the home between February and May 2004.

She explained care given to Mr Sayers: “We had to read books to him or watch television. If he left his room we would go with him.”

Another care assistant, Ceri Evans described Mr Sayers as a “very boisterous person”.

She worked at the home during June 2004. She said she was never told what one-to-one care entailed but regularly sat with Mr Sayers.

Carol Higginson worked as a care assistant between May 2003 and September 2004. She said the instruction she was given about one-one care was to “keep him occupied”.

A rota was created for members of staff to sit with Mr Sayers for an hour at a time. But Miss Higginson said this wasn’t always the case.

“When I first started, there wasn’t always someone with him. I left two weeks before he died and up until then, carers were told to come out of his room when he was asleep and do other chores,” she added.

Proceeding.

Home's staff and a doctor deny all charges

Mountleigh Care Home general manager Dawn Harris, 52, of Raglan Mews, Newport and care manager Enda Evans, 56, of Glyn Derw, Caerphilly, are jointly charged with wilfully neglecting Alan Sayers between December 18, 2002 and September 28, 2004.

Care assistants Rosslyn Jenkins, 54, of Alexandra Place, Newbridge, and Michael Lurvey, 54, of Greenfield, Newbridge, qualified nurse Musediq Salisu, 47, of Viscount Evan Drive, Newport, and agency care assistants Margaret Lewis, 60, of Prospect Place, Cwmbran, and Chengeta Kaziboni, 34, of Cowbridge Road West, Cardiff, are jointly charged with wilfully neglecting Alan Sayers between September 25 and September 28 2004.

GP Sushma Ohja, 55, of Hillside Park, Bargoed, is charged with making false representations on Mr Sayers’s death certificate and cremation certificate and also falsely obtaining £50.70 from Gwent Police by claiming she attended the home in her capacity as a police doctor.

Mountleigh Care Home was located in New Bryngwyn Road, Newbridge, but has since reopened under new management, run by Southern Cross Care Homes and is now open under the name of Millview House and Lodge.