Substandard care for a Wallington care home resident and errors in subsequent safeguarding investigations led to acts of injustice, a report has revealed.

Sutton Council has been forced to waive off more than £800 in expenses in recognition of the “poor standards of care” the resident had at Tordarrach Nursing Home.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) also told them to write off the remainder of the fees during her stay, amounting to just over £3,022.

The LGO’s decision, revealed in a report published on January 24, comes as Tordarrach Nursing Home was shut down and stripped of its licence last year.

READ: 'Inadequate' Tordarrach Nursing Home hits out after being shut down

The complainant, only known as Mrs B, contacted the council in September 2015 to raise concerns about her late mother’s welfare at the home in Hall Road.

She alleged her mum, only known as Mrs C, had not been out her second-floor room the day before because the lift was unusable, having reported the problem twice.

Mrs B also noticed a cut on Mrs C’s arm, “covered by a large plaster on it”, and claimed staff told her she’d cut herself on a wheelchair – but questioned this reasoning.

Following the launch of a safeguarding investigation, the cause of the injury was ruled “inconclusive” but found the home hadn’t told Mrs B immediately afterwards.

The LGO said a second safeguarding probe was underway in February 2016 when Mrs B discovered a bruise on her mum’s arm.

READ: Tordarrach Nursing Home enters 'special measures' following CQC report

A plaster to a cut on the Tordarrach resident’s leg was also found, prompting concerns from Mrs B about her mother’s welfare.

The council said Mrs C was “an adult at risk with care and support needs which prevented her from protecting herself from harm” – with an allegation of neglect of care.

A safeguarding conference was held in March 2016 and decided the allegation of abuse could be supported, despite the cause not being determined.

It was also discovered the history of Mrs C’s skin condition “had not been properly assessed”, while information provided to social services and Mrs B throughout was “inadequate”.

Following a council risk analysis, and ban on the placement of residents until further notice, Tordarrach was stripped of its licence last year.

But while the LGO says the council “acted properly” when concerns were raised, they found fault in their investigations and what followed from them.

READ: 'Inadequate' Tordarrach Nursing Home will not become a bedsit

Among their concerns, the report says the first safeguarding probe was “not comprehensive”, while events were “overtaken” by the second safeguarding alert and what followed from it.

Although the alert was raised on February 12, 2016, the home wasn’t visited for more than three weeks, until February 29, before another visit followed on March 2.

An internal council document also said the case conference on March 23 “lacked a robust discussion” about the allegations put forward.

A council spokesman said: “We accept the findings of the ombudsman and apologise for the distress experienced.”

To see the report, click here.