The family of a teenager who was denied food at a Stirlingshire care centre fear he will not recover from the experience.

Lewis Mahony, a 19-year-old man with autism, severe learning disability and epilepsy, was repeatedly left in his room without food and water at Camphill Blair Drummond.

Although he suffered anxiety in crowded rooms, staff insisted he was not allowed food or drink until he dressed and entered the communal dining room.

This meant he was often left hungry and dehydrated, and received his medication on an empty stomach, which medical guidance states should always be given with food.

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Now the Care Inspectorate has upheld the family’s complaint about his care.

It was only after his mother Christine Mahony visited with a friend that she decided to remove him from the centre.

She said: “I found him in his room in dirty pyjamas, hungry and thirsty, and when I tried to encourage him to get dressed, he went white with fear and resisted desperately.

“The staff had given him nothing to eat or drink that day. Although it was after 1pm, the house leader continued to refuse to give Lewis anything to eat in his bedroom, saying he was ‘just being a stroppy teenager’.”

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Officials from the Care Inspectorate visited on April 27 and found many areas of concern, particularly that on the days when he refused to go into the dining area he was deprived of food and water, became hungry and thirsty and was at risk of dehydration.

It concluded Mr Mahony’s parents had not been consulted about changes to his care plan as his welfare guardians, nor any of the external professionals involved in developing the strategies.

On the days when he chose to stay in his room and was not given breakfast the service failed to comply with pharmaceutical guidance when administering Epilum.

The house leader refused to let Mr Mahony eat his breakfast or drink in quieter parts of the unit despite this being a recorded strategy which was repeatedly requested by his parents.

The service did not comply with Mr Mahony’s behavioural support strategy which resulted in poor outcomes and had an impact on his daily life.

His parents said they had repeatedly raised concerns with management about a deterioration they observed in their son, only to be told that there was ‘no problem’.

Mrs Mahony said: “Despite his disabilities, he was a happy young man with a great life. He was only at Camphill Blair Drummond full-time for eight months.

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“Now he is confined to our home in a state of high anxiety and we do not know when or if he will recover.

“Staff at Camphill Blair Drummond seemed to assume that, if only they bullied him hard enough, Lewis would be able to eat communally as they desired.

“They failed to consider the devastating effects on his health and his quality of life.”

In a statement, Camphill Blair Drummond say the welfare of people they support is of the highest priority and they take all complaints very seriously.

They said: “We take all complaints very seriously and address all concerns at the earliest opportunity in order to resolve matters quickly and effectively.

“This was an isolated incident which does not reflect the high quality standard of the support we provide as evidenced by our latest Care Inspectorate Report which shows grades of ‘Excellent’ across all quality themes.

“We regret that the outcome for the family did not match our usual high level of parental satisfaction.”