A grandmother has been left with horrific bruising and two black eyes after she fell while unattended at a care home.
Jill Symmonds, 78, fell at Sunnybank Care Home in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday.
Her injuries are so bad it looks like she's been beaten black and blue. But in fact she fell from the toilet late in the day after being left alone.
Now Jill's furious granddaughter Emma has released the picture to hit out at what she fears are inadequate staffing levels at the home - and to protest at the fact that no-one from the home called Jill's family to tell them about the fall.
Jill was left with horrific bruising across most of her face and swollen purple welts over both eyes.
It was not until several hours later - when the family called to check on her - that they found out about the incident and that Jill had been taken to hospital for treatment alone.
Nail and beauty therapist Emma revealed it is not the first time Jill has fallen at the home during her five years there. She said Jill had previously broken both her legs while suffering one of the fits which she is prone to.
Emma, from Stuartfield, Aberdeenshire, was so angry about what happened that she put a photograph of Jill's injuries online in a post that has now been shared more than 1,000 times.
She said: "When I made that post, I was quite upset and quite angry. We were getting no answers from the home.
"Now, they are doing a full investigation and we have a meeting on Monday with them. We have to give them the chance to explain themselves but I don't think we're going to get answers we want at it.
"She's had a fall and it's pretty horrendous, but it's not the first fall that has happened. This is probably the most severe, but what we're trying to get to the bottom of at the moment is why she has fallen.
"It does appear that care homes do not have the level of staffing that people like us think they should have, which is totally wrong. I think the majority of carers at the moment do a fantastic job and I really do take my hat off to them.
"It's something I used to do when I was younger, and it's not something I could now.
"But the problem is it cannot be OK if people are falling like this. It happens too often and it's disgraceful that elderly people are treated this way."
Home operators Meallmore Ltd admitted it was "unacceptable" that Jill's relatives had not been informed of the fall and said the matter was under review.
A spokesman for the firm said her loved ones had not originally been contacted because of a "retraining issue" with the staff member involved.
He added: "We are still reviewing the incident and, as is our policy following any significant event, we will undertake a full review with the resident, her family and other relevant professionals to update the resident's care plan to minimise the risk of a future incident.
"The fact the resident's family weren't alerted as soon as she was admitted to hospital was unacceptable and we wholeheartedly apologise.
"We take the prevention of falls very seriously and each resident is assessed, in line with national falls guidance, to limit their risk.
"However, it is important to note we do not restrict movement or choice of people in our care. Any incident such as this is reviewed to ensure lessons are learned for the future and care plans, along with ways of working, are then adapted accordingly.
"As a company, we take matters like this extremely seriously, as the care, comfort and security of residents is our top priority."
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