St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly has categorically denied claims an 81-year-old patient died after suffering medical abandonment and insisted its staff provided all the necessary care.

“While understanding that the death of any loved one brings about lots of bitterness and sorrow, in this particular case the death of Mr [Leonard Thomas] Lancaster was not the result of shortcomings on our end but was due to the will of nature,” the elderly home said in a reply filed in court.

The home’s CEO, together with the permanent secretaries at the health and family ministries, was reacting to a constitutional application filed by the widow and two daughters of Mr Lancaster, who passed away last August 28.

Emily Lancaster and her daughters, Theresa Fsadni Lancaster and Caroline Battistino, claim he was treated inhumanely and suffered “medical abandonment” while at St Vincent de Paul.

They said that, after suffering various strokes, he could not communicate well and relied on carers.

However, staff at the home failed to treat wounds he developed, including sores in his genital area, and he even developed a form of gangrene, known as Fournier’s gangrene, and had to spend time at Mater Dei Hospital.

The relatives said the treatment Mr Lancaster had been given at the home was inhumane and degrading and the way he was treated had caused psychological trauma to the family.

They asked the court to declare that Mr Lancaster had suffered medical negligence.

In their reply, the authorities insisted the staff at St Vincent de Paul gave Mr Lancaster the best care possible.

They categorically denied there was any negligence and added that, if the relatives really believed this was the case, they could have filed a police report.

The fact that they did not indicated they did not really believe this was a matter of medical negligence, they said.

The authorities added that, contrary to what the relatives seemed to imply, Mr Lancaster did not die as a result of the gangrene.

Staff at the home had noticed redness in his genital area while bathing him.

They were aware that this could be Fournier’s gangrene and that it could progress rapidly. They, therefore, referred him to Mater Dei Hospital, where he was operated upon successfully and sent back to the home.

The authorities insisted that Mr Lancaster was given all the care necessary to treat his condition of hypothermia and denied leaving him in cold areas.

They also denied claims that the same blade was used to shave various patients or that cloths used to clean surfaces were also used to wipe patients’ mouths.

The authorities called on the courts to reject the claims of mistreatment made by Mr Lancaster’s heirs.