The care-home squalor that costs a fortune
In the last financial year 233 care homes were given the lowest rating of “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission.
Yet despite sickening and sometimes dangerous conditions, an investigation by the Mirror has discovered that many of these homes are charging eye-watering fees, often of £1,000 or more a week.
According to its website RCB Healthcare Group Limited calls itself “a premier provider of high-quality care”.
One of its care homes is Woodford House in Dartford, Kent, where a room costs from £1,200 to £1,500 a week.
That’s up to £78,000 a year in premises where the watchdog Care Quality Commission found “multiple and significant shortfalls”.
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“People were not always treated with kindness, dignity and compassion,” read its report published in June.
“Parts of the service were overwhelmingly odorous and staff had failed to identify and address this. People were referred to as numbers instead of using their names.
“People were not dressed in the manner they were used to which impacted severely on them.
“Relatives told us they found contacting the service challenging and that they were not always kept up to date with their loved one’s care.”
CQC director Rebecca Bauers said: “Inspectors saw some people weren’t supported to dress in their own clothes, were dishevelled, or hadn’t been helped to clean their teeth for two to three days.
“It was also appalling that some staff would refer to people living here by their room number rather than their name.”
The director of RCB Healthcare Group, 53-year-old Baljit Sanghera, also runs Priory Mews Care Home, which was given the same “inadequate” rating in February.
“The provider had taken over the service on August 30, 2022 and told us they were working hard to make improvements, including refurbishing people’s living environment, staff recruitment, staff training, creating a positive staff culture and to increase activity,” the CQC report states.
“However, we saw poor care, relatives told us about poor care, and parts of the living environment were not safe or pleasant to live in.”
A spokesman for RCB Healthcare told the Kent Messenger newspaper that it had made “deep-rooted changes” since the watchdog’s visit.
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Willow View and, inset, Apinder Singh GhuraThe business interests of Apinder Singh Ghura range from fashion retailer French Connection where he’s a director to Willow View Care Limited, a home in Stockton-on-Tees with rooms for 77 residents.
Last month it was declared inadequate by the Care Quality Commission and put into special measures, meaning that the company could be banned from operating if improvements are not made.
Problems included residents not being given their prescribed medicines because stocks had run out and “little action had been taken by staff to address this”.
The inspectors also raised hygiene concerns, saying: “We found dirty items throughout the home”.
Sarah Dronsfield, CQC deputy director of operations in the North, described the home as “totally unacceptable”.
“When we inspected Willow View Care Home, it was concerning the provider still hadn’t addressed the issues highlighted at previous inspections,” she said. “It was concerning to hear how worried staff were about being unable to meet people’s care and support needs due to low staffing levels and poor support from management.
“They told us they didn’t always have time to change people’s incontinence aids or get people out of bed.”
For this “care” Willow View charges £850 to £1,000 per week.
The company told me that the watchdog’s report was “a real disappointment”.
“We are confident that when the CQC revisit Willow View, they will see the dedication and commitment shown by all at Willow View to ensure significant improvements have been made for the well-being of our residents,” its statement read.
Windmill House in Wymondham (Google)If you search Google maps for Windmill House in Wymondham, Norfolk, you’ll find a picture of it with a banner outside declaring its “outstanding” Care Quality Commission rating.
It’s an old image – the care home now has the lowest “inadequate” rating.
“The home was visibly unclean and inspectors repeatedly found people left with soiled bedding, as well as a damaged toilet that was leaking onto the floor,” said Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, earlier this month.
“We also saw people hadn’t always been supported to clean their teeth and fingernails, all of which raises people’s risk of infection, and doesn’t allow them to live in a dignified way.
“It was also concerning that people told us staff weren’t always kind to them.”
In May, the home’s food hygiene rating was lowered to one – only a zero could be worse – with “major improvement necessary”.
Windmill House, which has rooms for 59 residents, charges £1,100 a week – that’s £57,200 a year.
It is operated by Runwood Homes Limited, which said in a statement: "Since the CQC inspection, we have made progress in implementing an agreed action plan, this is to make the necessary improvements in both the safe and well-led categories.
"We will continue to work closely with CQC to ensure that the improvements continue to be made and sustained. We ensure that the wellbeing of our residents is at the forefront of everything we do here at Runwood Homes.”.
In Barwell, Leicestershire, a room for your loved one at Saffron House will set them back £960 a week and yet many of the 33 residents slept on stinking mattresses.
“We saw dirty toilets, commode bowls, doors and walls, and stained bedding containing rips and holes,” the CQC stated after making an unannounced visit.
“Several bedrooms and corridors had strong and unpleasant smells and we saw multiple mattresses which were heavily soiled and foul smelling, which is totally unacceptable.
“In addition, people weren’t protected from water-borne infections like Legionnaires’ disease due to a build-up of limescale on multiple taps around the home.”
Some positives were observed by the watchdog: “People told us staff were kind and caring, and treated them with respect.”
The home, run by Minster Care Management Ltd, did not comment.
Alexandra Lodge, NottinghamAlexandra Lodge Care Home in Nottingham was the cheapest care provider that I looked into, but it still charged £654 a week, or £34,000 a year.
For that you might hope for better than a building that was described as “not safe” by the Care Quality Commission.
“People received poor quality care, due to staff not having the required skills and abilities to meet people’s needs,” its report published last month reads.
“Staff told us the home was not safe and the provider did not listen when they raised concerns.”
Among the issues were “several areas of the environment were very unclean, which posed a risk of infection” and stained mattresses in people’s bedrooms.
The building, which can house up to 19 residents, is undergoing renovations and could not be reached for comment.
Stone Gables, LeedsInspectors from the Care Quality Commission found that some residents at Morley Manor Residential Home in Leeds were not being given their medication.
“When the stock in the service was compared with the records it showed that more medicine had been signed for than had been given. This meant people missed prescribed doses of their medicines,” its report reads.
Other issues included people being given medicines that had been discontinued and one resident having their medication suddenly stopped rather that the prescribed reduction regime being used.
Although inspectors did not find that anyone had suffered, they ruled “people were at risk of harm”.
The home is run by W & S Red Rose Healthcare Limited, which charges £800 a week, that’s £41,600 a year.
The same company runs another care home nearby, Stone Gables.
Last month this was given the second lowest rating of “requires improvement”.
Director Shabir Ahmed told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he was committed to improving the service.
Residents at Swarthdale Nursing Home in Ulverston, Cumbria, complained of having nothing to do.
“An activity coordinator was in post but absent during our inspection and the provider had not arranged effective cover,” the Care Quality Commission report states.
“Staff told us there were no activities for people at evenings and the weekends.”
Considering that a room costs £895 weekly, it shouldn’t be too much to expect some bingo or a quiz night.
Staff complained of an uncommunicative management regime that did not respond to concerns.
“The provider had no effective oversight of the care home or governance arrangements to ensure people received high quality care,” said the watchdog.
The home is run by Vishomil Limited, which declined to comment.
The charity Care Rights UK, previously The Relatives & Residents Association, condemned the rip-off homes exposed in the Mirror’s investigation.
“Poor care is completely unacceptable, no matter how much a person might be paying in fees,” said its director Helen Wildbore.
“But for people paying high fees, it can add to the anger and distress when that care turns out to be substandard.
“Every day we hear about the harm being caused by poor care, not only to the person relying on that care but also their family.
“The regulator must step up and take action to ensure we can all expect a basic level of care, whenever and wherever we might need it.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK said: "This analysis shows that unfortunately it is perfectly possible to be charged a lot of money for sub-standard care - sickening for any older person who finds themselves in this position, and their family too.
"The reality is that some older people have no choice but to accept a place in a care home with a poor rating, because there is no better option they can afford nearby.
"Having to pay through the nose for it adds insult to injury. Nothing could better demonstrate the dismal state into which social care has been allowed to fall in recent years, starved of sufficient Government investment and policy attention."
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