VALE regional AM and Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies has called reports that a Barry care company instructed a staff member to leave a 92-year-old woman alone on the floor after a fall an "unforgivable failing".

Care company 1st Grade Care came under fire when an investigation revealed various failings including an incident in which a carer was advised to leave Barry woman Doris Jones alone on the floor so she could move on to her next visit.

The carer - who has asked to remain anonymous - spoke to BBC's Week In Week Out and told them: "I asked if somebody could do my next call for me because I didn’t feel happy leaving her, and I was told no. I had to leave her and to leave the door open for the paramedics.

“I asked if they would be happy if it was their mother lying on the floor and somebody left. I was told it was just the job.”

South Wales Central AM and Vale resident Andrew RT Davies said: "If true, this is an unforgivable failing on the part of a company which has a responsibility of care to so many vulnerable people throughout the Vale of Glamorgan.

“It’s bad enough that carers feel rushed from appointment to appointment, but to leave an elderly lady on the floor after a serious fall is scarcely believable.

“They need to introduce procedures to enable cover to be sought in this kind of emergency.

“It’s clear that companies like 1st Grade Care are not being adequately monitored and action must be taken against companies who fail to meet the required standards.”

A recent report published by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), accused the company of putting service users in the Vale of Glamorgan in "unnecessary and significant risk to their health, safety and wellbeing due to a lack of sufficient training for a high percentage of staff".

The Vale of Glamorgan council, who contract 1st Grade Care, have said they have been and will continue to monitor the company's work following "a number of issues being raised" but have not reached the stage where they "would consider decommissioning the care arrangements".