Nick Smith MP has said two Abertillery care home managers had betrayed the trust of local families.

The registered manager of Grosvenor Nursing Home in Abertillery, Susan Reynolds, and registered nurse and deputy manager Heather Hayward were struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council on Wednesday, October 1, after being found guilty of more than 20 counts of misconduct and impairment.

It included failing to ensure pressure wounds were treated, failing to ensure one patient received sufficient nutrition despite warnings and not implementing proper care plans, in offenses stretching between 2002 and 2007.

The offenses were described as “shocking failings” by the panel, who said they had led to “avoidable harm to vulnerable patients”.

Mr Smith’s disgust at the case was compounded by the fact Grosvenor House were one of the care homes investigated by Operation Jasmine, a seven-year investigation into care home abuse in South Wales.

The Blaenau Gwent MP has campaigned for justice for the families whose loved ones suffered abuse and neglect, with an Independent Review now underway into their case and laws working their way through parliament that would see neglect and abuse in care homes result in jail sentences for staff and owners alike.

Mr Smith said: “This is appalling to see once more and at the same time sadly familiar.

“When we think of abuse we think of the worst possible outcomes, yet in numberous ways these acts of neglect heap misery and pain on the most vulnerable.

“These people have been struck off, and that has decimated their careers, but the thought they can just waltz into another line of work must be galling for the families affected by their lack of care.

“This is exactly why I campaigned for wilful neglect to be made a criminal offense and care home staff and owners to be held to account by the law.

“Hopefully they will mean in years to come future generations will be protected from this pain.”