Brithdir: Care home boss 'was embezzling money', inquest is told

Paul Black showed reporters around the home as part of an investigation by BBC Wales

The former chief executive of a care home company at the centre of a neglect investigation knew money was being embezzled by the owner, an inquest has heard.

Paul Black ran Puretruce Healthcare Ltd, which owned 22 care homes, including the former Brithdir Nursing Home in New Tredegar.

An inquest is being held into the deaths of seven residents at the home.

On Friday Mr Black said Prana Das was embezzling money from the business.

Dr Das died last year without facing trial, following one of Wales' biggest inquiries into care home neglect.

Both Dr Das and Mr Black were charged as part of the £11m Operation Jasmine inquiry, with Dr Das also charged with offences relating to theft and false accounting.

Charges against both were left on file when Dr Das was injured in a robbery at his home in 2012.

Prana Das was attacked in his home in September 2012 and died last year

Speaking at the Newport inquest on Friday, Mr Black said it had become clear after he was hired by Dr Das in 2003 that the doctor had "no business acumen and I had a lot of work ahead of me".

• Neglect 'left care home residents malnourished'

• Resident "looked like prisoner of war"

He told the inquest he quickly realised the company was "bankrupt" and spent the first three months "trying to keep the company alive and sort of the financial difficulties".

"I did get drawn into organising the training and I also raised that there was a serious problem with staffing - the bill for agency staff was just horrific," he said.

The inquest had previously heard concerns over staffing levels at the home, which Mr Black said was partly due to Dr Das refusing to pay staff decent wages.

"Staff also found that they didn't have the right level of training and got disheartened," Mr Black said.

"I had meetings with Dr Das every week and I would say 'we have got to pay out staff better rates'."

The inquest into deaths at the care home comes after a major police investigation

When asked if he knew about a company director's loan in Dr Das's name, which the inquest had previously heard had grown to half a million pounds, Mr Black said he was "aware he [Dr Das] was embezzling money out of the company".

"The problem was I had one cheque book but Dr Das had the other. I was aware but I didn't know to what extent," he said.

The inquest had previously heard evidence from police interviews in which Dr Das refuted an allegation that he had asked for patients fees to be put into his own account.

Mr Black was asked about concerns raised at the hearings that extra equipment requested by staff never materialised. 

Mr Black said he became aware that the company owed their main supplier £72,000. 

Coroner Geraint Williams told Mr Black: "My overall sense is that you were so concerned with the money side, the other side, the care of the residents, was of secondary importance".

Mr Black responded by saying he was looking after the interests of staff and residents, but "my focus was to stop wasting money".He is expected to give more evidence next week.

Evelyn Jones was one of the residents whose family raised concerns

The inquest is looking at the deaths of Stanley James, 89, June Hamer, 71, Stanley Bradford, 76, Edith Evans, 85, Evelyn Jones, 87 and William Hickman, 71.

A hearing into the death of a seventh resident, Matthew Higgins, 86, will be held following the conclusion of the other six.The hearings are expected to last until March.