Dundee Care Home Staff Will Not Face Censure

NO MEMBER of staff at a Dundee care home will be disciplined after an elderly resident wandered off from an organised outing and ended up in hospital.

Florence McGowan, wife of the late former Lord Provost Norman McGowan, went missing during a trip to Discovery Quay earlier this month which had been organised by Riverside View Care Home.

Before staff could raise the alarm the 81-year-old great-grandmother, who suffers from dementia and arthritis, was found by police at the foot of the Hilltown, disorientated and suffering from a broken hip after a fall.

Riverside View Care Home launched an internal investigation into the incident and a spokeswoman confirmed yesterday this has now concluded.

She said, “The care home provides a very high standard of care and we believe all procedures were in place and followed during the outing in question.

“Riverside View Care Home will continue to monitor procedures and outings in the future to ensure the high standards are maintained.

“The care home has apologised to the family for the incident. They were happy for the resident to return and she is now comfortably back in the home.

“No-one was disciplined in relation to this incident and the matter is now concluded.”

The Care Commission is still carrying out a critical review of the actions and procedures of staff leading up to and after the incident.

It will release a statement when the review is complete.

Mrs McGowan’s family declined to comment on the outcome of inquiry.

Her son Stephen had previously said the length of time she was missing was “unbelievable” and that it had been an “upsetting time for the whole family.”