FORMER residents of the Feltham Dene care home have been left 'disorientated and unsettled' in temporary accommodation, Hounslow Council has admitted.

The Spring Road care home was shut down on October 8 after unsafe levels of Legionella bacteria were found in the water supply but families of the 34 elderly residents have not been told if or when it will be safe for them to move back in.

Last month the council said it was happy with the way residents has been rehoused but a letter seen by the Chronicle from a council officer to the NHS director of public health suggests otherwise.

On October 28, head of resources Chris Pierre wrote to Dr Mike Robinson saying: "This [evacuating patients] in itself is high risk for the very frail elderly, many of whom have dementia. The Feltham Dene residents are, in the main, disorientated and unsettled in their temporary placements."

The home, which is run by Shaw Healthcare, was shut when the Legionnaires disease-causing bacteria was discovered.

One resident, 83-year-old Margaret Drewett, was hospitalised less than 24 hours after the move and remains in Ealing hospital fighting for her life.
Her family are furious at the way she was moved and say they have had no information for weeks about the future of the home or arrangements for Mrs Drewett if she is released from hospital.

Daughter-in-law Jill McCarthy said: "We have heard nothing at all. We are none the wiser on the situation than we were when it shut down. The council don't seem to be concerned so what can we do? It's like banging your head against a brick wall."

A spokeswoman for Hounslow Council said: "Our care management teams have kept in regular contact with the care homes and the families to ensure that residents were managing as well as possible."

The council has stopped paying Shaw for its services but fears have been raised within the local authority that Feltham Dene could go the way of Eldridge House care home, which was shut in 2006 because the council could not stump up the £800,000 required to make it safe following a similar Legionella outbreak.

The council spokeswoman said: "Each building must be assessed individually against the information received regarding the safety of the residents. Feltham Dene will remain temporarily shut while we await further test results, after which a decision on the site will be made."