THE owner of a Caerphilly county care home should have been prosecuted as part of an investigation into alleged abuse there, a damning report has found.

A review of Operation Jasmine was commissioned by the Welsh Government and carried out by respected care expert Dr Margaret Flynn. Its findings were made public today.

She recommended that inquests should be held into four of the deaths, despite them having been registered with the coroner.

It concluded that prosecutions should have been pursued and some early cases known to Operation Jasmine should have been referred to the coroner.

The report stated: "The organisational practices [families] witnessed were inadequate in terms of attending to older people's frailty, chronic illnesses, deteriorating health, mental distress and pain. The nursing which some older people were promised proved to be false."

Operation Jasmine was launched by Gwent Police in 2005 after the death of an 84-year-old woman. It investigated more than 60 deaths over a period of seven years at a cost of £11.6 million.

The six homes investigated were in Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Caerphilly – including Brithdir Care Home in New Tredegar.

In May this year, six former nurses at the care home had a total of 86 failings found proven against them by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in relation to the care of nine vulnerable residents between April 2004 and March 2006.

Its owner, Dr Prana Das, was charged under Health and Safety at Work Act and the Theft Act but all charges dropped after he sustained severe head injuries in an assault.

Dr Flynn’s report said: "Had the trial proceeded, might have led to a conviction for crimes of fraud and breaches of health and safety..."

Chief Inspector of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales Imelda Richardson said: “Dr Flynn’s report is an important step for the families and relatives of those who suffered harm, and who have shown immeasurable strength and courage in situations no family should ever have to face. The report describes the damaging effect that completely unacceptable care had on people’s lives.

“These events should never have happened. We told families when we met them how sorry we were. CSSIW recognised that we needed to strengthen our work, focus on people, drive improvement in the care sector and ensure timely enforcement. Everything we have done since has been built on the principle of putting people first.

“We do not tolerate failing care. Providers have an opportunity to put things right, but when they don’t, we take prompt action.