Disatisfied with care home - what can we do?

[Ang1e]

Hello all,

I am new to this service though I did post an introduction a while ago. This is my second post as my time is being taken up by concerns over my brothers care at the moment.

My adult brother with severe learning disability lives in a small, residential care home in London. The home provides accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care, and learning disabilities.

The care home used to provide a fantastic service and it felt like you had walked into a family home. There was a lot of staff/resident interaction and there was fun and laughter. It was a really nice atmosphere. The last CQC report scored them Outstanding in the Caring category, and good in the other categories. Things have changed though.

Our family are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the service, particularly over the last year, and we have a number of concerns. The care home, and the organisation that run the service, are not making the effort to listen to our concerns let alone address them. After a CQC inspection we raised our concerns with them and the inspection is currently ongoing.

We feel we should start investigating the possibility that we may have to move my brother to a care home that is better able to support his needs.

My brother was signed over to the authorities in 2003 so we are not sure of what we are able to do. My father has since moved from London to West Sussex, so it would make sense that if we want to move him, and if we are able to, it should be somewhere nearer to his family.

Having inherited some money my brother is presently self-funding, though that money will only cover his care for a couple of years. My father picks him up every Saturday, he stays with dad, and returns to the home on Tuesdays. Dad would be unable to care for him full-time at home though.

Our questions are:
Would we able to move my brother from one local authority to another?
Where can we find relevant information?
When his money runs out would the new authority be prepared to fund his care?

I am sure there are more questions that I should be asking but this is a new area for me and I would very much appreciate any help or guidance as I feel out of my depth with this at the moment.

Thanks for any help or suggestions,

Angie

[nigel2113]

Hi Angie,

I suppose you could find more information on the Government website. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is one of the benefits your brother could possibly claim due to his disability. Here’s the link: https://www.gov.uk/pip

Also, you said your brother was signed over to the authorities in 2003, do you mean he got a statement?

Nigel

[Ang1e]

Hi Nigel,

Thanks for your reply.

I’ll have a look at PIP and see what I can find. Presently he receives EESA and DLA. I think he receives mobility allowance currently too. I haven’t seen anything to do with PIP but I’ll ask our Father as he has financial deputyship from the Court of Protection.

My mother was my brothers’ primary carer but she was seriously ill and made arrangements for my brother to go into the care system. I say he was “signed over” as I am unsure of the terminology or the exact process. Mum felt it was a huge responsibility and didn’t want us to carry the burden, not that we feel he is a burden of course. We were told a number of years ago that if we wanted to take responsibility of caring for him at home again we would have to prove negligence by the care home. He was never taken from us.

I have tried an internet search on what is meant by “statement” but I haven’t found anything meaningful. Can you tell me a little more please nigel2113?

Thanks and kind regards,

Ang1e

[sianwhite]

Hi @Ang1e,

You can read more about ‘statementing’ here. It can be called different things, and tends to be referred to as an Education, Health and Care Plan nowadays.

I hope this helps!
Sian

[Ang1e]

Thanks so much Sian.

I had a read and it seems to be more relevant to children and young people with a learning disability.

Though interesting to read my brother is an adult. The council he presently comes under provides all the language, psychology, etc. therapists and the care home have a Health Care Plan (HCP) for the residents. We have recently had a meeting at the home to review his Person Centred Plan (PCP) too.

I would imagine that some sort of EHC assessment may need to be carried out if we did relocate him to another councils jurisdiction.

Thanks again,

Ang1e

[VK3QQ]

Hi Angie,

Look at website lisainc.com.au and see if you have similar problems to those we have in Australia

[Chris]

Dear Ang1e,

Firstly, although I may write a little more than I anticipate, I hope the following is of use to you.

Your story is very familiar to me. I have battled my local authority (Herefordshire Council) and the provider (The Priory Group) for the past two years, due to ill-treatment and inadequate care and support provided to my vulnerable autistic brother; who lives out of County.
In our case, although I do not have deputyship, I am an interested party.
He is now going to move, and I am seeking legal action for the inadequate care and support received and the breach of his family’s statutory rights for a considerable time.

Below is my understanding of your questions, and response.

I understand your father is your brother’s deputy for finance and property only, with the local authority responsible for his health and welfare. Your brother has severe learning difficulties; so the Mental Capacity Act applies to him. Here is a guide to the MCA: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-capacity-act-code-of-practice
and the Act: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents
As you mention negligence, have a read of section 44 of The Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Suffolk County Council provide an easy read translation of The MCA legislation. The link is a little long, but try searching for "suffolk county council mca section 44."
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/44

Q1. Would we able to move my brother from one local authority to another?
A. I assume your brother has a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards order in effect; if so I would check that it is current, as this could raise another subject. But your brother has the same rights as anyone else.
If your brother expresses that he is not happy in the current home, or his deputy has concerns for his welfare in the present home, the local authority should not hamper the decision of him moving but support him; if it is in his best interest.
You need to find a new home first, and evidence that moving there would improve his quality of life or be in his best interest, this could help if it were to go to The Court of Protection.
Have you requested that the local authority conducts a best interests meeting?
A good source of information for such meetings that I have found is by Lincolnshire Council and available on The Social Care Institute for Excellence website: http://www.scie.org.uk/files/mca/directory/best-interests-meetings-guidance.pdf
http://www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide39/challenges/

I would urge you to keep accurate records of any concerns or meetings, including photo and audio video recordings, it could prove useful in the future.

Q2. Where can we find relevant information?
A. The local authority has a duty under part one of The Care Act to provide information and advice to those in the authorities area, please refer to:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/4/enacted
and
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-2014-part-1-factsheets/care-act-factsheets#factsheet-9-continuity-of-care-when-moving-between-areas
I have asked the CQC for a list of homes in a particular county in the past, the below link may be of use to you, as you can download the list of CQC regulated homes and search by location or post code, etc.:
http://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data#directory

Q2. When his money runs out would the new authority be prepared to fund his care?
A. As to your brother’s funds, you mention he is self-funding at present, but you have concerns about his money running out.
It is not a matter of whether the local authority is prepared to meet your brother’s needs, it is the local authorities legal duty to meet his eligible care needs, even in cross border situations.
Once his capital and savings fall below the current upper limit, he will need a financial assessment, and if entitled the local authority will meet some or all of his care costs.
So basically, he could live in West Sussex (the host authority) but would be funded or part funded by the London authority (the placing authority).
You also have a right to challenge local authority assessments and may find your brother is entitled to an independent advocate.
Useful link for you:
https://www.carehome.co.uk/fees/feesadvice.cfm
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/care-homes/social-care-funding-changes/care-cap-and-means-test-changes/
More detailed info: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents/enacted/data.htm
Cross border:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/49/enacted

I have also put a short list of useful sites on our website, available at: http://www.whileincare.info/useful-links/useful-helpful-links/
You may also find useful a page I created to identify organisational or institutional abuse:
http://www.whileincare.info/useful-links/organisational-or-institutional-abuse/

I hope the above is of some use, and that you are successful in helping your brother move to a better home, where he will receive adequate care and support, and be closer to his family.

If you would like to read about our story, support our cause or simply share our website, blog or crowdfunding page, please visit and share it with everyone you know, Thank you.
Chris

blog - While in Care

care and support provided to my adopted brother inadequate

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chris-bury

[Ang1e]

Hi Chris,

Thank you so much for such an informative response.

Since my last post our family have begun the process of moving my brother to a care home closer to family.

The decision was made approximately 2 weeks ago and we have hopefully found a suitable care home that is very near to my father. I say hopefully as placement is subject to a suitability assessment that took place at my brothers’ current care home with his keyworker present. This took place yesterday and we hope to be informed of a decision next week.

I haven’t had an opportunity to read all of the links you provided but I will do in earnest.

Our concern is that once my brother moves to his to home the other residents will be left to the devices of the current service provider. Their relatives only visit once or twice a year, and one of them has no living relatives so is under the care of an advocate.

In my original post I wrote that the CQC were still carrying out their inspection. This was finalised and the report was published in May. Unfortunately I was unable to keep abreast of things at the time due to health issues, but having read the report fairly recently I must admit to being rather disappointed with the results given the effort we made in making them aware of issues. I shall be taking this up with them.

We had hoped that in the intervening period things would have improved at the care home as the CQC downgraded them, and made recommendations of improvement. Unfortunately this is not the case. There have been a couple more instances where dignity and safeguarding issues were apparent and we intend to notify both social services and CQC. Fortunately these occasions did not involve my brother, that said it is still a very sorry state of affairs as our family have a long relationship with the other residents (they are generally referred to as service users, but I hate that term as it makes them sound like a commodity, rather than people).

We have much work to do at the moment in doing our best to ensure that the new care home can provide for all of his needs. His social services allocated worker advised the care home needs to support him as follows:

He is placed in a Residential Care Home with 24hr. supervised care, to cater for all daily living activities and tasks, physical / mental health and emotional well-being, social interactions, and stimulations.

We also intend to ensure that social services and CQC are fully aware of all of our concerns over the past couple of years for the sake of the remaining residents. We’re not sure what else we can do as apparently we can only gain contact with other relatives through the current care service. We’re not sure they will provide us with their contact information.

Thanks for all your support.

Ang1e

[Chris]

Hello Ang1e,

After reading this back, it’s turned out to be quite a bit longer than I originally thought.

It is good to hear that in a small way the information I shared may have helped with your brother moving to a better home.

From reading your story, it is sadly very similar to ours, and I wonder how many others have a comparable tale to tell.
Unfortunately, I have found profits appear to be of more important than people in some organisations, and more worryingly, in my opinion, ignored or assisted by some local authorities.

I am sure your brother’s move, managed by you and a competent social worker will have a significant impact on the improvement to, not only your brother’s quality of life but that of your dad’s too.

I note his assessment was with his keyworker present, I don’t know if you are aware or not, but your brother has a right to an independent advocate who can be present for assessments. This can help in an event such as a paid carer attempting to influence any decisions for their own benefit.
If there is no dispute in your family as to the best interests of your brother, you should be able to advocate for him.

When moving care homes, my understanding of the law is that it needs to be in his best interest and meet his needs, if there is a dispute about him moving a best interests meeting should be held without delay, addressing the benefits and burdens of moving him.
I hope that in two weeks time the news is good and the decision is unanimous in moving your brother to a better home closer to your father.

Something worth noting is in The Social Worker Code of Practice it says social workers should not collude with the erosion of human rights or allow their skills to be used for threats to family life of those in vulnerable positions.
It also says social workers should be prepared to be accountable for and justify their judgements and actions to people who use services, the general public and employers.

I will be updating our website with a page to some of the many pieces of legislation that I have learned about, used or referred to for help with our battle of addressing inadequate care and support and institutional abuse.
One piece of legislation that I recently have been reading, and which I believe is worth you looking at, is The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. It places a duty on local councils to assess needs for and help with phone service and any necessary special equipment, even installation and rental costs. Possibly something your brother needs, there is also a part mentioning providing holidays, which could be simply a break from a regular carer.

I completely understand your concern for the other residents in the current home; I have a similar concern where my brother is.
It’s even more troubling when you have identified issues in a home and relatives of others may have been misled, deceived or unaware of concerns.
Our experience of advocates has been mixed. I discovered after a care review meeting one particular RPR was negligent and the providing service protected them, even though The Mental Capacity Act does not allow for negligence whether harm is caused or not. I hope the person you mention who has no relatives, at least has a trustworthy advocate who will challenge any care and support concerns for them.

Regarding The CQC. I too have been disappointed with CQC inspections and reports.
The latest report where my brother is, stating there were nine complaints on behalf of the five people who live in the home since the last inspection (high in my opinion), and medication records were accurate, when in fact I showed a document that proved otherwise; yet the home received a good rating.
Most recently I have made The CQC aware that the home we have concerns about, have I believe temporarily moved staff and resources from two other homes to make it appear adequate for the approaching inspection that is due to take place.
Something that I have suspected in the past and unfortunately reinforced after I heard from a whistleblower.
In my opinion, the state of the care system is not only dire but in places corrupt and dangerous. A very sorry state of affairs indeed.
Like yourself, I will take issue with The CQC if the home I have concerns about is not downgrade.

From experience, I have found wilful ignorance to be a common practice when concerns are raised with our provider and some social service staff; safeguarding appearing only to apply if identified by council staff, and not relatives.

I entirely agree with your comment about the use of the phrase service users; I find the term uncomfortable and borderline offensive toward the people it refers to, after all, they are not people using a pump at a petrol station they are individuals living in their homes.

Reading your last paragraph, it sounds like you, fortunately, have a decent social worker who has your brother’s best interests and needs as the primary concern and on your side, similar to what is happening with my brother at the moment.

It appears to me that before anyone is provided with proper care and support, or action is considered, the vulnerable must suffer and their family or relative is required to battle for at least two years, then and only then by such trial does any change for the better begin to be examined or happen.

One thing I have requested that my brother is given is helped to make some friends. A care act advocate and I noted he appears lonely, even though living in a home with others, I firmly believe the other residents who live there are the same.

Regarding contact with your brother’s fellow residents families, I think you may have difficulty but understand why you would want to communicate with them. I have said to some professionals that I would like to speak with the relatives of other residents at the home where my brother is, or pass on my details, but have not heard anymore. Unfortunately, I suspect you may experience the same, although I hope not.
I may request the same again or attempt a different way of contacting the relatives of the other individuals, and if successful I will post how I was able to do so.

Ensuring social services and The CQC are aware of the past couple of years, for the sake of the other residents may provide significant data that they need, as I will also be doing with my brother’s case.
I am hopeful a law firm will take on our case, and allow me to prove not only inadequate care and support but negligence, bringing such before a court of law.

For now, I wish you good luck and hope your brother’s move is a huge success and significant improvement to his quality of life, I suspect it may also help with your health and wellbeing.

Regards
Chris

[VK3QQ]

Hi Angle,

We would love to hear the concerns you have/had with the care home. And, we would love to see a copy of the CQC report.

We have significant concerns about our son’s care home, and we try to get all the CV (CQC reports

We would love to exchange with you. We are in Melbourne, Australia. Out email is: vk3qq@optusnet.com.au. You can see our website on www.lisainc.com.au

Tony & Heather Tregale

[Ang1e]

Hi Tony and Heather, thanks for taking an interest.

Since my original post in March there has been a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak. I plan to post what we have learned along the way when I have time and I shall post it under a new topic. This may be helpful to other people experiencing problems when using the UK care system.

Our concerns have been many and varied over time and I shall not post any them here, though perhaps I’ll post some of them as examples when I write about our experiences…

We have recently had a Best Interests meeting and the local authority have said they will approve my brothers’ move, subject to a suitable Transition plan being put forward. We are presently preparing it.

Information on CQC can be found on their website, as follows:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/

Under Latest Inspections column, on their Homepage, you can see a section called This months past ratings. It appears in coloured font as follows:

The past month’s ratings
28 Outstanding
709 Good
337 Requires improvement
110 Inadequate

By selecting any of these categories you can access a list of all the services that fall under each category.

By selecting any of the services listed, you can see an overview and download the CQC reports. The report will show you in more detail why the service has received the grading CQC have given it.

I shall not give you information relating to the care home we have issue with, as the problems may be of interest but I don’t see it being particularly relevant to anybody other than those who might wish to use this particular service. As you are in Australia I therefore feel it is not going to be of benefit to you.

In the UK vulnerable people are protected by the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act, and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

You should be able to find any of these documents online by doing a web search. I would imagine that Australia has its own laws and guidelines.

You may find the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) a good source of information but it is UK relevant:

www.scie.org.uk

Angie

[VK3QQ]

Hello Angie,

Thank you for your response. Whilst we accept the UK disability support services are different from how it’s done here in Australia, we gain from knowing what works and what does not in the UK.

The traditional disability support system here is slightly different between states.

Here in Victoria, the traditional disability support services are block funded by the state government. Group home services are 60% provided by state government direct care staff, and 40% by non-government service providers.

This is, however, in the process of change towards a national service entitled the “National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)”. This is intended to be provided totally by non-government service providers. Local Authorities have no roll in this country!

Our youngest has been living in a government group home since we very reluctantly decided we were getting no younger to provide 24/7 care. Paul is physically fine, but is high support needs autistic. But, as a result of our intensive behaviour management, especially when he was younger, he is generally very pleasant to be with.

Our major complaint with most group homes, especially government managed, is the level of “Mindercare” in contrast to “Quality of life Care”.

Overall we feel sure the comparison between your “care homes” and our “group homes” would be very interesting.

Regards,

Tony & Heather Tregale

[VK3QQ]

Is there plenty of care home places on offer over there, Chris? As you say “have a best interests meeting”, suggests lots of option. What about compatibility? Who works that out?

Tony & Heather Tregale
S.E Australia

[Ang1e]

Hi #VK3QQ,

Apologies for not responding to your last post. I am not ignoring you but it is difficult to find the time to respond in detail. I hope to do this in the new year once my brother has moved, and is settled in safe and sound. -sorry.

I know your post was addressed to #Chris, who I owe a reply to also. I would like to have a good look at both your websites but time is an issue presently.

In my experience there are a lot of care homes available, the problem is the quality of them. In my opinion, particularly when finances are stretched - as they presently are and have been as a result of the 2008 economic crash - it opens the door for standards to drop. Social services funding is cut which means less people to keep check. You may have heard that the UK has an austerity focused government, which means all services countrywide are having to cut back hard.

We approached social services of the local authority we hoped to move my brother to. They supplied a list of care homes to us. You can also find a list of care homes on the CQC website and approach them directly to check availability. As long as their fees fall within the local authorities funding threshold then all should be well.

If the care home is not listed on the CQC website then, in my opinion, you shouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.

The care homes on the CQC website should have a registered care home manager. They have greater knowledge, experience, and responsibility than a care home manager does. Therefore, with a good registered care home manager in place a care home can receive really good CQC inspection ratings. Problems can occur however if/when that registered manager leaves, eg. illness/retirement/better job offer. If the care service mismanage this transition to the new manager then the result is a reduction of care provision to the residents. This is what happened with my brother’s care home.

The care home had been set up by a family wishing to provide a home for their son, and 5 other residents. Due to age and illness the care home was passed on to a local care service who managed other similar homes. The care home operated as it had done for years until 3 years ago, when the service started to make changes. I am not sure if this was due to their new chairman, the introduction of the Care Act 2014, or the squeeze of local funding as a result of austerity. Perhaps a combination of all 3.

The registered manager had been in place for 25 years, or so, and was completely familiar with the residents, their care & well-being needs, and their home. The staff were carefully selected, worked as a team, and were happy in their work. This reflected on the home having a happy family atmosphere.

The service started enforcing changes that seemed to be in their best interests rather than in the best interests of the residents. Pay cuts occurred, the house funding was scaled down - though resident’s funding by social services increased - pressure was put on to force the changes through. The staff became unhappy, the manager was under a huge pressure to maintain the level of care, and ultimately it resulted in long term sickness leave, then early retirement. The care service’s treatment of this manager was very unsupportive, if not abusive, during this period. It went to tribunal and the manager won.

In addition, a temporary manager was put in place by the service. This manager was not a registered care manager, and looked after a Supported Living service. The residents at my brother’s care home need a much higher level of care than they do in SL. My brother’s social services contact - he does not have a social worker allocated due to funding cuts - has said that in her opinion my brother is not suited to SL.

Under this temporary manager they started to introduce SL processes, so not only were the residents and staff having to deal with the change of a long term manager leaving, they were, at the same time, having to cope with the introduction of new systems. This did not make for a harmonious atmosphere which resulted in the negative impact on residents, leading to behavioural problems. Leading to more pressure being put on staff. A number of staff opted for early retirement, some left, which then meant there was a heavy reliance on bank and agency staff. This coming and going of different people who were unfamiliar with the residents needs lead to further problems. The care home was having difficulty in retaining staff and were unable to find a deputy manager who wanted to stay. The service said that the staff problem was due to the Brexit vote, and London has seen a reduction in foreign workers applying for care jobs.

A second co-manager was employed 6 months ago - still not a registered manager. Things are getting a little better but still there are problems.

Best Interests meeting: This is a requirement in the Care Act 2014 for when someone who lacks capacity wants to relocate. Our meeting was between social services, the care home, and our family. After determining why the move is required, the background from each attendee, and agreement that the move is in the best interests of the person concerned, the Decision Maker decides what happens. In our case we had lost confidence in the care home, they agreed a move would be good, and we wanted the move so there was no conflict. If we held Heath and Welfare deputyship for my brother then the decision would have been ours. As we don’t social services make the decision. Fortunately they have now agreed to our Transition plan.

I’m not sure what you mean by compatibility, perhaps in moving to the new home? If so, then the new care home carried out a Suitability Assessment to determine if my brother was a good fit with the other residents, and with the care they can provide - he was. Once social services have agreed to the move they need to carry out a Capacity Assessment. This is then passed on to the new local authority who also carry out a Capacity Assessment. This is required as part of the Care Act 2014, as there needs to be continuous care in place from day 1 of the move.

This is longer than I intended but it may give a small insight into the way things work over here.

Perhaps Chris’ can offer some additional, or alternative, information.

Hope this helps.

Ang1e

[VK3QQ]

Thank you Angie for your super response. We will study and respond a little at a time, as we slowly get our minds around the UK disability support system.

It is interesting for us to see how much accommodation choice you guys seem to have in comparison.

You seem to have options, but lack funds. Whereas, under our progressing new system (NDIS) we, currently, have the funds, but no or few, options

We have heaps of funds collecting dust, but no alternative care homes.

The Federal Government is pouring money on to the streets. So there is far more demand than supply of both accommodation options and support staff

Tony & Heather Tregale
S.E. Australia

[Chris]

Dear Vk3 Qq,

Apologies for the delay in replying.

There are a lot of care homes, and from what a social worker recently told me, more places available than my local authority tend to tell anyone. However, the problem is getting a satisfactory supported living or a place, where the individual will not only be adequately but satisfactorily cared for and supported, with a provider that is transparent and trustworthy; having the individual as the priority and not budget or financial profits. Unfortunately, From experience, my brother’s placement provided by Herefordshire Council and The Priory Group is a constant and recurring concern, with not only me identifying organisational or institutional abuse but a recently appointed advocate and social worker.

Regarding compatibility, this should be one of the topics discussed at a best interests meeting. From experience, I find the subject of benefits and burdens" of remaining where they are or moving is considered by professionals in particular as a primary point, but compatibility is not afforded such consideration. I believe compatibility should be a core element when decisions for a vulnerable person and their future accommodation, care and support needs are being discussed or make.

Further, with competent professionals committed compatibility should be monitored by everyone involved, professionals, carers, family/interested party, from a best interests meeting to placement, to the review meetings that follow after the individual has moved and had time to settle.
In my brother’s case, he has become institutionalised, alienated from family, neglected and lonely in a home that I first raised concern about in November 2015; it was only in July 2017 that a replacement advocate and IMCA social worker noted the inadequate care and support concerns and issue of compatibility that I had.

As a side note, I suggest reading The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/497253/Mental-capacity-act-code-of-practice.pdf

I hope this is of some help to you and you find a placement or supported living that you have complete confidence in, and one that allows your relative to remain safe, happy and satisfactorily cared and supported for the rest of their life.

Regards
Chris

Please share the website and blog detailing the inadequate care and support provided to my vulnerable autistic brother. Thank you.

blog - While in Care

care and support provided to my adopted brother inadequate

whileincare.info

[VK3QQ]

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your broad response, we are however keen to have more nuts and bolts as to why and in what areas the care is poor. As we have similar problems, especially in government direct care, where the quality and level of care is as a direct result of direct care staff integrity, rather than management direction. Our care home areas of support (what staff need to do) is: Administration, Domestic, Personal Care and Quality of Life Care (Active Support/interaction, engagement and skill development) When they mainly do the first three, we say this is “Mindercare”

We say, residents of care homes should not have to say, “Gee we are lucky to be in a good home!”

What about the CQC? What are they doing for you?

We have a real bucket of worms here at the moment the support services are changing from state based, to federal based under the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Federal Government are pouring money on to the streets - All people with disabilities are getting a well funded plan. So there is far more demand than supply at present.

Our direct contact is:
vk3qq (at) optusnet (dot) com (dot) au

[Chris]

Hello VK3QQ ,

Apologies it has taken a while to reply, I am busy going through two years of data to prepare for a meeting with CQC inspectors later this month.

Unfortunately, I do not have anything good to say about the dire quality of care and support my local authority provides.

From our experience, I believe one of the reasons for poor care and support stem from the inadequate quality and knowledge of senior level management in social care roles and some social workers at local authority level who are negligent in their duty.
Culpability is not a word that my local authority is familiar with, obscurantism, sadly, I believe is.
I am finding a worrying pattern of service failure, apology and repetition with the current director for adults and wellbeing in Herefordshire Council, which does not only involve my brother.
That said, fortunately, not all management or social workers are like this, and there are some competent and knowledgeable ones, who in my opinion should be supported and not have to argue the reasons why a vulnerable person is entitled to satisfactory care and support and a better quality of life.

Regarding providers, or in our case The Priory Group. Similarly, we have experienced a complete disregard of concerns when such are raised for or on behalf of my vulnerable brother, to the extent of specious claims made by the director for risk and safety at The Priory Group, and solicitor for said corporation, which later are, I prove revealed to be false.

It is evident to me that the bigger the provider is, the less quality and more deficient care and support is, including the quality of staff employed. I have in the past been contacted by ex-staff who informed me that when a carer reports a concern, whistleblowing is not tolerated by The Priory Group and the person is dismissed.

The quality and commitment of staff also vary dramatically, as does staff turnover, this I believe is due to several factors, but mainly low wage, high responsibility and lack of opportunities.

Quality of food provided to residents in care homes is another concern for me. While my brother has resided, against his family’s wishes, at H House, he has gained 5 stones in weight. Since repeatedly requesting a dietician and support for him, which he has a mandatory right to and which has been ignored, he has lost a mere 4kg in just over 33 months. The weight has damaged his health and knees.
While claims have been made by the provider about healthy diet and eating plans, I have not once been allowed to view any details of these. I do however possess a recording where a previous manager of my brother’s residential home claimed that budget was of more importance than providing quality food to residents.

Unfortunately, I do not see improvement in the near future, while we have local authority management who’s ignorance, lack of obligation and accountability, and the greed by some providers remains.

As mentioned, I will be meeting with CQC inspectors later this month and hope to detail in the limited time I have with them the organisational and institutional abuse that appears rife within my local authority social care and The Priory Group and home where my brother is forced to remain.
The home previously had nine complaints within 12 months for the five people who live at H House, yet received a good rating from The CQC.
I asked a CQC inspector sometime ago, how do you know things like care plans and drug records are correct when inspecting a home? The response was they ask the management. when I asked with who else do they crosscheck the accuracy of records, I was told, nobody.

I hope this has in some way provided a little more detail for you.

Chris

Please share the website and blog detailing the inadequate care and support provided to my vulnerable autistic brother by Herefordshire Council and The Priory Group. Thank you.

blog - While in Care

care and support provided to my adopted brother inadequate

whileincare.info