A rest home owner has launched a scathing attack on the Department of Health after an official said she was "not acceptable'' to look after old people and was told to resign.

Frances Crockwell, the administrator of Palmetto Palms Seniors Home, said she will not resign and branded the behaviour of the Department as "unfair and unprofessional''.

She added that the allegation she is not fit to look after elderly people is untrue and that she will sue the Department for slander if other claims, allegedly made, are repeated. She slammed the Department for allegations, which she refutes, made in a letter from the Co-ordinator of Seniors and the Disabled Corita Saunders to Alice Jones.

Mrs. Jones, who now lives in New York, complained about the home after her mother, a resident, passed away in January.

Mrs. Crockwell's lawyer Delroy Duncan yesterday challenged the Department to provide proof of the allegation that she is not fit to run the home.

He said he wanted the Department to provide proof of other contested claims that the home is overcrowded, does not have qualified staff and that residents do not get enough activities. Mrs. Saunders wrote to Mrs. Jones last month stating Mrs. Crockwell was "not acceptable to care for the elderly'' and had been asked to resign as administrator of the home on North Shore Road, Devonshire.

The letter stated that Mrs. Crockwell was ordered to find a registered nurse to run the home and to employ qualified, competent geriatric aides. Failing that, the residents would be moved to other homes.

Seniors home owner claims Health Dept. slandered her inadequate staffing at the home at night and that staff were sometimes discourteous.

Mrs. Saunders' letter stated that she reassured Mrs. Jones' sister, Theodocia Lambert, that "this abuse would not be tolerated''.

Mrs. Crockwell said she was puzzled by the complaint, because Mrs. Jones wrote her a letter after her mother's death thanking staff for the "excellent care'' she received at Palmetto Palms.

Mrs. Jones' letter added: "It was most comforting to know that at all times she was given all the best in her home away from home.'' Mr. Duncan told The Royal Gazette : "Mrs. Crockwell has 40 years of nursing experience and has run Palmetto Palms for nine years.

"The rest home enjoys a generally accepted excellent reputation for being clean and well-kept and professionally supervised by qualified and diligent staff.

"It has always had the full support of families who have relatives there and both the private sector and Bermuda Government have recommended people to the facility.

"Mrs. Crockwell received nothing in writing to confirm that an investigation had been launched.

"If documents concerning the rest home have been sent to family members it is unfair and unprofessional that they have not been sent to Mrs. Crockwell.

"There are draft regulations for residential care and it appears in the absence of specific legislation, the Co-ordinator of Seniors and the Disabled is seeking to impose a legal standard on that facility that has not been passed into law.

"There is a concern that if, and to the extent that, other allegations have been made against the home and administrator by the Government Co-ordinator of Seniors and the Disabled, that they are untrue and libelous.

"The rest home has great support from the families who have residents there.

"They are prepared to sign affidavits in support of the excellent care the rest home provides.

"They are also prepared to say how a spokesperson from the Department of Seniors and the Disabled has slandered the good reputation of the rest home.'' He added that Mrs. Crockwell would "not tolerate any further unsubstantiated slanderous comments''.

Mr. Duncan said Chief Medical Officer John Cann had indicated that Mrs.

Crockwell could continue to own the facility, provided staffing met certain Department of Health standards.

Mrs. Saunders refused to comment yesterday, referring calls to Dr. Cann, who is off the Island.

Dr. Cann told The Royal Gazette on April 5: "Based on our review of the operations of that facility, and based on concerns we've had over a period of time, the decision was taken that at the end of the licence period, we would expect that she (Mrs. Crockwell) would transfer operational responsibility to a registered nurse, someone with suitable qualifications and that she would continue as owner/operator, but that the facility had to have someone with appropriate qualifications to provide day-to-day operations.

"It is our understanding that she has decided to continue to own the facility and is in the process of selecting and identifying someone who will have to be approved by us.'' Mr. Duncan added that a registered nurse had been on staff on a part-time basis since March 10, when the full-time nurse resigned, and that a full-time replacement is expected to be appointed next week.

SENIORS SR