editor@arranbanner.co.uk
More than 750 people have signed a petition calling for an independent inquiry to be held at the Montrose House care home in Brodick.
A paper petition launched by the Church of Scotland collected 538 signatures in less than a month, while an online protest attracted 218 signatures before being sent to North Ayrshire Council chief executive Elma Murray, who is in overall charge of the home.
It follows a long-running saga surrounding the treatment of five long-serving members of staff which has been rumbling on for most of the year. Three have now been sacked, a fourth is appealing demotion and a fifth remains suspended. The petition calls for an inquiry into the dismissals, and why it has taken so long for the disciplinary process to be completed, to be independently investigated by a panel of councillors.
However, while the council says it will ‘respond fully’ to the petition there is no sign it will call for an inquiry.