George Peterkin (86) said he is staggered by levels of bureaucracy and red tape within the local authority, with no one taking action while his brother's health deteriorates.

Now he has pledged to raise the matter with Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon after being told by Moray Council they will need 20 days to respond to his complaint about their service.

Mr Peterkin, who worked in the national health service for 40 years as a senior nurse, said he had been left frustrated by the council's inability to carry out an assessment or explain the delay.

"If any of my junior staff had not been able to come up with a proper response within a short period of time to a simple question, I'd be getting onto them and telling them to pull their socks up.

"If a person in a position of responsibility cannot answer a simple question in one day without the need for an investigation lasting 20 working days, they are not fit to be in the post," he said.

Back in February, Mr Peterkin was promised that an assessment for a nursing care allowance would be carried out by the community services department within 60 days.

His younger bachelor brother, John (81), has emphysema which requires him to be on oxygen almost 24 hours a day, as well as a number of other health problems.

He had been staying on his own at his home in Braco Place, Elgin, getting meals on wheels three days a week and paying for his own home help to come in and assist on other days.

But his condition took a turn for the worse at the start of the year, said Mr Peterkin. He was going to bed with his clothes on and not even fit enough to prepare himself a snack.

The family decided to approach Moray Council to ask for the assessment so that he could be provided with a more intensive package of care better suited to his needs.

However, while they were waiting for that to be carried out, John's health deteriorated further and it was agreed it would be best to move him in to Abbeyvale Nursing Home.

Moray Council said that having him in a residential placement would allow them to carry out the assessment sooner, but weeks later no one has visited him and he is paying the £500 weekly fee from his own pocket.

Mr Peterkin, of Pansport Road, said he contacted the community services department two weeks after his brother's admission to the home to ask when the assessment would take place.

He said: "They told me that I had been misinformed about the waiting time, and I told them I was not at all happy and wanted to know why it was taking so long.

"I didn't receive an apology, no sorry or an assurance that they would do something as soon as possible. The girl on the phone just told me if I was not happy to send in a complaint.

"I sent in a letter to the head of social work, and I got this letter back saying that it would take 20 working days – four weeks – for them to investigate and give me a reply.

"I've never heard such nonsense. To my mind, the social work department is either being quite irresponsible in its duties or it is quite incompetent. It's an appalling delay."

John is sharing a room at Abbeyvale with another Peterkin brother, Roy. However, he has Alzheimer's disease and gets up out of bed several times during the night. Staff at the home feel it would be better for John's health for him to have a room of his own.

Mr Peterkin added: "John came out of the Navy at the end of the war and was then a postman for 37 years. He has never had a day of dole money in his entire life. It's a shocking way to treat someone."

A spokesman for Moray Council said it did not comment on the detail of individual cases, but confirmed that they had received a complaint from Mr Peterkin on April 29.

"It is currently being formally investigated in line with our complaints procedure and we have assured him that he will have the outcome of this no later than May 28," added the spokesman.

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