Operation Jasmine: Review into care home neglect probe says owner should have been prosecuted

A highly critical review into a major investigation into alleged abuse at care homes in South Wales says the owner of two of the homes should have been prosecuted.

Dr Margaret Flynn's report - published on Tuesday - called for the Director of Public Prosecutions to refer the Operation Jasmine investigation to the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service.

"Mistakes and errors of judgement characterise the organisations associated with Operation Jasmine" she added.

  • Operation Jasmine was carried out by Gwent Police, focusing on six care homes in south Wales.

  • It is estimated to have cost around £15m.

  • The investigation focused on 63 deaths identified as a cause for concern in care homes and nursing homes

The trial of Dr Prana Das, the director of the company operating two of the care homes, was stopped in 2013 after he suffered head injuries in a burglary.

The charges were placed ‘on file’ on the basis that the case might be revived should Dr P Das recover sufficiently to stand trial at a future date

In January 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told Gwent Police that there was insufficient evidence to support a reasonable prospect of prosecution for either gross negligence manslaughter or wilful neglect.

"The Crown Prosecution Service’s assertion that the Operation Jasmine case would have fallen on the basis of lack of evidence of causation should have been tested before a jury" says Dr Flynn's report.

The report says the people operating the homes investigated by the inquiry "appeared impervious to the needs of older people and the growing concerns of their families".

Staff at the homes, it added, "had neither the skills nor the knowledge to care competently for frail older people".

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said it welcomes the report, and said it had made progress in speeding up how it deals with complaints against nurses.

Care Forum Wales said the review had highlighted "abhorrent" cases of neglect "that must never be allowed to happen again."