A NURSING home is under close watch after inspectors found a neglected elderly dementia patient rolling on the floor crying for help.
The Care Quality Commission also discovered the Chelmsford Nursing Home resident, who must be checked upon once every 30 minutes, had been neglected for more than four hours.
The regulator is expected to revisit the Sandon home after ordering managers to improve in every aspect.
Amanda Malin, who trained as a nurse at the same home 20 years ago, fears the case is another example of "care in the community being thrown out of the window".
The 49-year-old's own father George Mason, an 82-year-old dementia patient, walked out of Admirals Reach nursing home in Chelmsford and drowned in the River Chelmer last year following a series of damning care failures.
"If that elderly dementia patient at Chelmsford Nursing Home had been checked every half hour then they would not be rolling on the floor," said Mrs Malin.
"They have obviously flung themselves on the floor for attention. It's very sad."
When CQC regulators visited unannounced on July 9 this year, they found that at 3.15pm the dementia patient had fallen on a crash mat laid beside the bed and then crawled off it.
The resident's emergency chord was hidden behind their bed out of reach and a care plan stated they had last been visited at 11am.
The report, published at the beginning of August, ordered Chelmsford Nursing Home to respond with its own report by August 26.
They also found the home's minibus had been broken down since February, a fire exit locked for no reason and dead flies spread over a bathroom window sill.
Mrs Malin said the industry is now too money orientated and bypasses essential training for newcomers.
"Care in the community has gone out the window, which is just what happened with my father," said the Great Totham mother, who now works as a dentist. "Dementia patients are so vulnerable and often they don't know what they're doing and need that extra assistance so it's really important they're monitored and not left alone.
"They need a bit of love and attention from every carer. Those carers are out there but obviously in that nursing home it just was not about when the CQC visited.
"These homes need to up their grades and I think this will carry on if nothing is really looked into."
The report on the home, which cares for 64 people with dementia-related needs, was the only one ordering managers to improve on every aspect out of a batch published this summer.
A statement from the home's owners, European Care Ltd, said: "Whilst we are pleased with the many positive comments in the inspectors report, we will also be working closely with the Care Quality Commission to address the areas they have highlighted.
"The health and wellbeing of the people we support is our number one priority, and we are committed to providing quality care and support."
