The tragic death of a 91-year-old man in a Highland nursing home has triggered fresh demands for major improvements to the care of dementia sufferers.
Council chiefs and MSPs said a “huge amount” of extra training and support was required to help sufferers in local communities and in care facilities.
The call for reform was made after it emerged that Black Isle pensioner John Taylor had died following an alleged assault by a fellow dementia sufferer.
The Press and Journal reported on Saturday that the retired civil engineer was found with nine injuries to his head after an incident at the £900-a-week Meallmore (CORRECT) Lodge facility at East Daviot, south of Inverness.
Mr Taylor, from Rosemarkie, died of a blood clot within minutes of the alleged attack last month.
His family have been told that the incident happened in the home’s dining room and was witnessed by several other residents – but no staff.
Police have carried out an investigation, and inquiries are now being directed by the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit at the Crown Office.
Last night, Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “It’s a horrendous situation for two families with vulnerable loved ones.”
She declined to comment further on the specific incident, but said there were wider issues for society to address.
“There is a lack of care available for those with dementia and we need to tackle this,” she said.
“I have constituents looking after people with dementia at home who can be violent. Sometimes the violence is because of confusion.
“If you had properly trained people looking after them, who understood dementia and could deal with it, you could deal with a lot of the fear and confusion that comes with it, to offer the reassurance they need.
“We need a huge amount more of training, both in the community and in nursing homes, and support for carers as well because sometimes they are left to deal with a loved one who becomes aggressive but are told there is no-where to put them because they’re aggressive.”
Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson has long campaigned for switching the focus to allow a greater number of patients to be treated at home.
She said last night: “Dementia is an area of rapidly increasing need, but what we’ve got to get much better at supporting people in their own community.
“It’s a sense of great frustration for me that we just haven’t got the services in place to keep people at home, including people with dementia. It’s about supporting families, to keep people going.
“I’ve seen people with dementia who have coped well at home so long as there’s enough support for the family.”
She acknowledged that funding for a broader service was key but troubling in the current economic climate.
“The NHS is having its budget protected but with local government, which pays for all adult social care, our budgets are not frozen and are just about to be hit even harder,” she said.
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP Drew Hendry said: “Clearly, this is a tragic incident.
“It would be appropriate to await the outcome of any investigation before making any further comment.”
Mr Taylor’s son Ian, from Cromarty, told the Press and Journal on Friday that relatives had registered concerns about staffing levels at the car home days after his father moved there, in August.
He has also revealed they were informed that the alleged attacker had “a history of aggressive behaviour”.
It is understood the unnamed resident has been moved to a psychiatric hospital.
John Taylor died on October 16. His death certificate states that the cause of death was pulmonary thromboembolism and calf vein thrombosis.
Meallmore Ltd is a family-run company based in Inverness with care homes across Scotland.
The P&J made numerous attempts to contact the firm over the past week without success.
The Crown Office has promised to keep Mr Taylor’s family informed.