Protesters gathered outside the Summerhaven assisted living facility yesterday, in a fresh round of criticism over alleged mismanagement.

“This is the first time residents have come together like this, and I congratulate them for it,” said part-time co-ordinator Yolanda Dowling, who stood with 13 tenants in wheelchairs outside the home for the disabled.

The demonstration was sparked by the dismissal of popular administrator Don Ricardo Wynn, who left Summerhaven abruptly last Thursday.

Residents said they wanted Mr Wynn back, claiming that John Powell, the chairman of Summerhaven, had blocked them from voicing their concerns to the facility’s board.

Protesters, all of whom carried signs, also complained of having their rights taken away, and a lack of good care.

Ms Dowling said tenants who spoke out had been subjected to “the fear of being sent to the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, or out on the street or in the hospital”.

Summerhaven, which was placed under investigation by the Ministry of Health and Seniors earlier in the year, is now undergoing an independent audit, The Royal Gazette understands.

Claims of mismanagement went highly public after Glenn Blakeney, the former Progressive Labour Party MP, took to the floor of Parliament in November 2015 alleging that residents had been subject to coercion and mistreatment.

Among yesterday’s protesters was long-term resident Willard Fox, who maintained that Mr Wynn had been unjustly dismissed after several months of reversing the troubled facility’s bad image.

“Every time an administrator challenges the chairman, he lets them go,” Mr Fox said.

Board member Ron Davenport was said to have replaced Mr Wynn as acting administrator, but Mr Fox said residents needed a permanent administrator to advocate on their behalf.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Powell denied that Mr Wynn had been fired at all.

“Everybody goes through a six-month probation period,” Mr Powell told The Royal Gazette. “Ric didn’t fit in.”

However, Mr Fox said the incident recalled the 2008 suspension and then termination of administrator Ianthia Simmons-Wade, who was cleared of any wrongdoing two years later after an extensive investigation.

“Mr Powell doesn’t seem to learn his lesson; I wonder if the board does,” he said.

Ms Dowling maintained that there would be accusations of residents being coerced into airing their grievances yesterday, as a petition circulated for the chairman’s dismissal and the reinstatement of Mr Wynn.

“Nobody made them come out here,” Ms Dowling added. “Enough is enough.”