A troubled care home had to find new places for almost 20 residents when it shut down suddenly just months after serious failings were uncovered by inspectors.
Bucksburn Care Home had been warned to make “immediate improvements” following a damning report last year.
At the time bosses insisted action had been taken to remedy the complaints and said they were waiting for inspectors to give it “a clean bill of health”.
But less than three months later, the home at Newhills closed its doors and had to find alternative accommodation for the 16 people who were living there.
Today the former care facility lies abandoned, with furniture dumped outside the front door gathering snow and letters piled up on the doorstep.
Neighbours said visitors were still turning up to drop gifts off for the residents, and delivery drivers continue to arrive with packages.
They said the property had lain empty for more than a month after residents and staff left without warning days before Christmas.
One man claimed the home’s fire alarm had been triggered on New Year’s Eve accidently, but there was no one to turn it off.
“I eventually phoned the police,” he said.
Last night, a spokesman for Pepperwood Care – the company that operates the home – said the closure had nothing to do with the standards of care, and that it had come down to money.
“We felt that the care standards were improving – that was well documented with the council and Care Inspectorate,” he said.
“However, we decided to close the home because it was financially unviable.
“We felt that the home needed significant investment, but with the business not performing well and all the investment required, it was not viable.”
He said the last resident had been moved out on December 5 and that everyone had been placed in locations their families were happy with.
“The closure was managed jointly with the council, which also assisted in finding placements,” he said.
“The process was managed well.”
Last night, local councillor Barney Crockett, said one fewer care home in an already stretched sector was a blow.
“We face a care challenge right across the UK, and in particular in this area because of the nature of the economy and the fact that people can find better-paid jobs elsewhere,” he said.
Bucksburn Care Home in the headlines
Bucksburn Care Homes has come under fire from watchdogs on more than one occasion.
In 2012, the Press and Journal revealed inspectors could find “no record” that a resident had a shower or bath for more than a month.
Health professionals who visited the home – including local GPs and community nurses – also raised concerns about poor communication among staff, the supervision of residents and the environment they were living in.
The Care Inspectorate revealed it was investigating two complaints and ordered bosses to make improvements immediately.
A leading older people’s charity said the failings could have “serious, detrimental effects” on residents and were, in some cases, an “affront” to human rights.
The failings were uncovered when the home was under the management of the Four Seasons group, which was acquired by private equity group Terra Firma in an £825million deal earlier that year.
The home then passed to Pepperwood Care, which also runs Eastleigh home at Culter.
In August, inspectors again warned bosses to make major improvements following an unannounced inspection.
Inspectors noted “important weaknesses” in how residents’ health and wellbeing needs were being met, and that standards had fallen since the last inspection.
Several residents spent hours sitting in transit wheelchairs rather than being helped to move to a comfortable chair while others did not get enough help to eat and drink.
One woman did not get help to fit her hearing aid while another resident was sometimes uncomfortable as he did not get the help he needed to change position.
A spokesman for the home said there was no risk to any of the residents and they were all well cared for.