'It's a good feeling giving back to the community'

by Oprah Flash

A window cleaner has put his squeegee and bucket aside to shovel snow and ice off the drives of elderly people for free, to help them avoid injury in the cold weather.

When snow started falling across Wolverhampton, 23-year-old Owen James' first thought was the impact on the vulnerable members of the community.

Offering his help, he posted a video on Facebook on Sunday that attracted more than 70 responses and viewed nearly 40,000 times. On his first day, he says he cleared 23 drives and pathways, costing him nearly £200 so far.

"Money comes and goes, but it's a good feeling giving back to the community," James said.

He is continuing to offer his services across the city and has continued to go wherever he receives a heads up that someone is in need.

"One cul-de-sac is on a hill and there's a lot of elderly living there who couldn't get their cars out because the bottom of the hill was like an ice-rink. I nearly lost my van on it," James said.

"I put the grit down and the residents were able to get out then, that's what it's all about, allowing people to get on with their lives in this weather, everyone is winning then."

All of the grit and equipment has been funded from his own pocket, costing him about £180, but he says he has no plans to stop.

"It's well worth it for the community, people have helped us build a window cleaning business so it's a way of giving back," James said.

"I'll be out until the snow disappears all together."

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for heavy snow in Wolverhampton from Thursday night into Friday. An amber cold-health alert has also been issued. 

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'It's a good feeling giving back to the community'

Cat saves diabetic owner's life

When 51-year-old Amanda Jameson lost consciousness and nearly slipped into a diabetic coma, her cat Willow sprung into action; biting Amanda's partner who had fallen asleep watching TV, then leading him upstairs to her. "I can't thank her enough," Jameson said. "She is the world to me."

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Cat saves diabetic owner's life

Norfolk care home accused of waking residents with loud music to save money

Staff at Iceni Care Home say vulnerable residents were treated as if they were ‘on a farm’ to reduce workload

Thomas Ryan and Clare Miller said said the alleged mistreatment of residents could have been avoided if the operator had paid for more staff. Photograph: Si Barber/The Guardian

by Robert Booth

Care workers at a private care home forced dementia sufferers out of bed as early as 5am and woke them by blasting loud radio music to save money, whistleblowers have alleged.

The management of Iceni Care Home in Swaffham, Norfolk, received repeated complaints about the practice this summer, as concerned staff said vulnerable residents were being treated as if they were “on a farm” in order to reduce the workload on daycare staff.

One alleged incident was reported in October after it was claimed screaming was heard before two agency care workers were found forcing a woman with dementia out of bed before 6am.

Thomas Ryan, a whistleblower who managed the Norfolk care home at night, said he ran to the scene to find “the lady was screaming, lashing out”.

He also alleged: day staff would turn up Alexa speakers in the corridors to play Kiss FM outside residents’ rooms at 6.45am to wake them; prescriptions for medicines such as anti-psychotics and antibiotics had on occasion not been collected for two weeks; and incontinence pads were locked in a cupboard at night, leaving residents unclean.

The care home is one of several owned by Syed Anjum Hussain, a 48-year old businessman based in Hertfordshire. It is one of about 1,500 residential care homes in England rated as “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulator.

It said it was unable to publicly comment on the allegations but safeguarding allegations are routinely shared with CQC and the local authority.

Ryan, who ran night shifts at Iceni, and his fellow whistleblower Clare Miller, a senior care assistant, have worked in social care for more than four decades combined. They said the alleged mistreatment of residents could have been avoided if the operator had paid for more staff. This would have allowed staff to get residents up only when residents chose to.

“I hate the fact that families have to hear this, but they need to because this is going on behind their backs,” said Miller, who described it as “organisational abuse”.

More than 150,000 posts are vacant in social care in England and government plans that emerged last week to restrict migrant workers risk worsening the problem, sector leaders fear.

Miller is the daughter of Ann King, whose abuse in the Reigate Grange care home in Surrey was exposed by the Guardian last year. She started working at Iceni in April 2023.

“The attitude regarding getting people up in the morning is disgusting,” Ryan told the care home operator by email in August. “It is not a farm. We will not force people out of bed … It is the residents’ choice not the staff’s. This is abuse and the home is allowing it to happen, despite me telling you.”

The care home operator welcomed his feedback as “very useful” and said people should not be “got up for the convenience of the team”. Ryan and Miller said problems persisted in the following months and they quit.

They told the Guardian staff were often not washing people when they changed their pads, leaving them soiled. Pads had been locked away. The care home manager told Ryan this was because “the night team had borrowed excessively”.

“They had the money to fix the problem,” Ryan said. “It has to change. We are all going to reach an age when we need help and if there isn’t caring help there, where are you going to go?”

A spokesperson for Norfolk county council said it was seeking assurances from the care operator about care and support. It said the home had been responsive and referred itself to the local authority safeguarding teams.

Peter Dean, a registered manager of Iceni Care Home, said: “All complaints and allegations are thoroughly investigated within our established robust processes. Safeguarding allegations are routinely shared with CQC and the local authority in a transparent manner, with whom we always maintain close communication.

“In keeping with our policy and obligations of confidentiality to service users and other stakeholders, we are unable to publicly comment in respect to these specific allegations.”

He said where allegations were unsubstantiated the complaint was closed, and where allegations were confirmed, changes were implemented to improve the quality of the service.

“We operate an open culture where we value the lessons learned from feedback,” he said.

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Norfolk care home accused of waking residents with loud music to save money

Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients

by Pamela Duncan and Matthew Weaver

Across country last month, almost 14,000 people were ready to be discharged but could not be sent home or into care

Hospitals in the south-west, south-east and north-west of England are taking care of a record number of patients. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

More people could be spending the time between Christmas and new year in hospital in parts of England this year than at any time in the past decade, as NHS trusts struggle to find social care places for patients medically fit for discharge.

The latest figures for December to date show an average of 94,200 patients were in hospitals across England, more than 93,000 of them in acute settings, the highest in seven winters.

Hospitals in the south-west, south-east and north-west, the areas with the highest proportion of medically fit patients who cannot be discharged due to an acute lack of social care, are taking care of a record number of patients.

The chief executive of NHS England, Amanda Pritchard, admitted the health service could be facing the “most challenging winter in our history”, even worse than the height of the pandemic.

In a Christmas thank you message to staff she said: “I always thought that, difficult as those initial waves of Covid were, and they really were, actually it would be dealing with the ongoing pressures, that could be even tougher – that combination of recovering services whilst also dealing with continuing Covid and everything else that winter throws at us.

“We’re facing record demand for many services from GP services, to mental health services and of course, urgent and emergency care. But despite these pressures, NHS staff are rising to the challenge every single day.”

The figures, which reflect the situation in the weeks to 18 December, show the scale of the challenge facing trusts, which were asked to undertake a “rapid discharge of medically fit patients” before last week’s ambulance strikes.

The NHS is experiencing a winter of discontent, with strikes by nurses and ambulance staff and multiple pressures affecting the service, including record ambulance delays, ever growing waiting lists and thousands of beds required for flu patients, as the virus has begun circulating widely after the Covid pandemic.

Across England 13,697 patients were ready to be discharged but could not be sent home or into other care settings in the week to 18 November, according to the NHS, equivalent to around one in seven people in hospital.

In the same week last year that figure stood at 10,694, meaning the number has risen by more than a quarter (28%) according to figures provided by the NHS.

However, the south-west – where more than one in five patients are stuck in hospital despite being medically fit to leave – is particularly badly affected, with 44% more patients taking up beds than the pre-Covid average.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of the region’s 14 acute hospital trusts had higher occupancy rates than the English average in December, while close to half experienced their highest levels of occupied beds for at least the past decade.

An NHS spokesperson said: “There is no doubt the NHS is under considerable pressure – the latest figures show 19 in 20 beds occupied amid rising numbers of flu cases in hospital and that’s on top of record A&E demand, increasing staff absences and over 13,000 patients each day in hospital despite being medically fit for discharge.

“Thanks to the efforts of staff and our recent drive on this there has been a reduction in the number of delayed discharges within NHS control, and the NHS continues to work closely with social care colleagues to ensure as many patients as possible can make it home in time to spend Christmas and new year with their loved ones.”

The British Medical Association doctors’ union said patients deserved better. Prof Philip Banfield, its chair of council, said: “Christmas should be a time people can spend with their families and loved ones and the thoughts of doctors and nurses will be with those who remain in hospital.”

He added: “With years of chronic underfunding and dreadful workforce shortages across the NHS and social care, this sadly comes as no surprise. There simply isn’t the capacity in the system to efficiently discharge people who could otherwise be cared for at home or in other settings.

“In 2023 the government can’t afford to bury its head in the sand, ignore healthcare workers and expect patients to put up with the NHS, once the envy of the world, collapsing around them.”

The NHS Confederation, which represents hospitals, predicts fewer patients will be kept in beds this Christmas than the figures suggest.

Its chief executive, Matthew Taylor, said: “There will undoubtedly be patients stuck in hospital this Christmas due to unavailability of social care packages, where they could otherwise be moved back home or into a residential setting.

“Some NHS leaders are telling us today that the strikes have led to a slowdown in patients being discharged from hospital. The strikes aren’t helping, but this has been a longstanding issue.

“That said, significant and effective preparatory work went into discharging those who no longer need to be in NHS beds ahead of the strikes. Although there has been a slowdown since the strikes, we think and hope that the situation may be better than what is outlined in these latest figures.”

But Taylor said more investment in social care would be needed to help free up hospital beds in future. He said: “The NHS and social care are working closely together to improve discharge rates but this is an ongoing challenge.

“We welcomed the government’s recent extra investment in social care, but that now urgently needs to be converted into more care packages for vulnerable people who desperately need social care support. Otherwise they will continue to suffer and the NHS will continue to have too many patients occupying beds that don’t need to be stuck in hospital.”

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Hospitals in England taking care of record number of patients

Top award for learning disabilities nurse at Rampton Hospital

A learning disabilities nurse at Rampton Hospitalhas been awarded the Chief Nursing Officer gold award at the Learning Disability Symposium 2022.

By Shelley Marriott

Helen Watkinson is pictured with Adele Fox, deputy director, Forensic Services who nominated her for the award

The award is for outstanding achievements, and performance demonstrated by a nurse, in their sphere of practice, such as clinical, education, research, or leadership.

The award recognises the exceptional contribution by an individual with a distinguished career in nursing.

Hillary Garrett, deputy chief nursing officer for England, presented Helen Watkinson with her award.

Helen was recognised after being put forward for how she has made a difference to her patients’ lives in learning disability services, where she has worked since qualifying in 1989.

Tabetha Darmon, Nottinghamshire Healthcare executive director of nursing, allied health professions and quality, said: “We are extremely proud of Helen for this fantastic achievement.

"She is a fantastic learning disabilities nurse and thoroughly deserves this award.”

Helen first worked in the community and inpatient settings, supporting people to live independently, before going on to work at Nottinghamshrie Healthcare’s Rampton Hospital, near Retford.

Adele Fox, Nottinghamshire Healthcare forensic services deputy director, who nominated Helen, said: “She arrived at Rampton Hospital as a breath of fresh air as she was able to offer her skills supporting independent living in a range of different ways.

“Helen’s passion to support people to live their best lives was infectious as she started to move secure services in a different direction, enabling patients to take ownership of their own care, involve them in aspects of their lives they previously were unable to do.

“I believe she has shown how things can be done, engaged and taught staff that the impossible is possible and dedicated her life to working with people with LD”

Helen said: “I have been fortunate enough to have had a long career in nursing and I am sure that I have got far more out of this than I have put in.

“I have worked with, and continue to work with amazing people who are absolutely committed to supporting our patients to move on, progress and have richer lives.

“I am both surprised and humbled by the nomination, and always grateful to have skilled and knowledgeable nurses and multi-disciplinary professionals around me who, despite the challenges, change lives.”

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Top award for learning disabilities nurse at Rampton Hospital

Making the care environment more dementia-friendly

Pictured on a simulated train journey on Medical Ward 1 in Nenagh Hospital were Siobhan Toomey, CNS Patient Flow, Nenagh Hospital; Vimal Mathai, CNS ICPOP, Thurles; Celia Dwan, ADON, Nenagh Hospital, and Elaine O’Sullivan, CNM2 Medical Ward 1, Nenagh Hospital. This quality improvement project for people uses reminiscence therapy to improve the experience of patients with dementia in Nenagh.

Nenagh Hospital's innovative train project

A project focused on the needs of people with dementia is improving the patient experience at Nenagh Hospital.

Patients are invited to take a simulated train journey through the interactive RemPods platform, which has been in use in care homes and hospitals in the UK for a number of years.

An LCD screen displays footage of rolling countryside, pulls through tunnels and into stations along the journey, facilitating reminiscence to reduce anxiety and stimulate positive memories in older patients with cognitive impairment.

Vimal John Mathai, Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons in Thurles, said this quality improvement project for Nenagh met a need where acute hospital environments were not as well set up for persons with dementia as care homes.

Mr Mathai has a specialist interest in dementia and has led out on the RemPods/ Reminscence Therapy project in Nenagh.

“A quarter of all patients admitted to Nenagh Hospital have dementia. I have worked in Nenagh myself and all the team there are focused on what we can do to improve things for this older group of patients. It’s fair to say that the clinical environment in an acute hospital is not as dementia-friendly as in a nursing home, for example.

“Admission to an acute hospital can be confusing and frightening for a person with dementia. Even though they need to be in hospital, the stay might also have a negative impact on their physical, mental and cognitive abilities. How acute hospitals are designed very often doesn’t meet the needs of people with dementia. Signage can be confusing; lighting can be poor; the environment can be cluttered with inadequate space for visiting,” Mr Mathai said.

TRAIN PROJECT

The train project in Nenagh, which has now opened on Medical Ward 1, focuses in particular on the different care needs of people with dementia. The initiative has been supported by management and ward staff, including ward manager, Elaine O’Sullivan.

Patients will board the train while having a meal, while welcoming a visitor for hospital or while waiting to be transferred or discharged. Feedback has been very positive from patients, families and staff to date, Mr Mathai said.

Through the RemPods platform, patients are encouraged to share their life experiences, memories and stories from the past. This is known as reminiscence therapy.

“Typically, a person with dementia is more able to recall things from many years ago than recent memories, so reminiscence draws on this strength. In many cases, recent memories deteriorate first for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. By sharing memories from the past through reminiscence therapy, people with dementia can develop more positive feelings while reducing stress and agitation,” explained Mr Mathai.

“Reminiscence therapy encourages discussion of memories that have been stored away. It helps stimulate those memories through sensory organs. This causes the brain to react differently than usual. Those reactions can impact emotions or behaviour. Studies have shown that reminiscence therapy can help older adults become more engaged.”

Commenting on the new project, Prof Michael Watts, Consultant Physician, UL Hospitals Group, said: “This is yet another example of Nenagh Hospital adapting to the challenges of providing care for the patients of UL Hospitals Group. Congratulations to Elaine, the staff on Medical 1 and to Vimal for all of their work.”

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Making the care environment more dementia-friendly

Wife Confesses To Crime While Asleep, So Husband Turns Her In To Police

By Dave Basner

 

Photo: Getty Images

In what seems like something out of one of Shakespeare's plays, a husband turned his wife in to the police after hearing her speaking in her sleep about a crime she committed.

It happened when Ruth Fort, 47, woke up her husband Antony, 61, by mumbling in her slumber about money. The incident occurred a few weeks after Ruth spent thousands of dollars on a family vacation to Mexico. The trip set off alarm bells for Antony, but she dismissed his suspicions. However, after hearing her sleep-talking, he started investigating and discovered in Ruth's purse the debit card of the wheelchair-bound woman Ruth was hired to look after. He then reported his wife, whom he married in 2010, to the police.

He told The Mirror, "I had my suspicions when Ruth began over-spending. It was more of an instinct really, at first. But when I found the debit card in her purse, I just knew. It was heartbreaking. I loved Ruth deeply, but I could not ignore what she had done. It was abhorrent to me that she could steal from a vulnerable person and I had to report her."

Antony, who lived with Ruth in England, explained he had been wary of her behavior for a few months, starting around the time she began her work as a caregiver. He said, "One night, in August 2018, I picked Ruth up from work and she told me she'd taken one of the care home residents out shopping that day. She said the lady, who was in a wheelchair, had 98k in her bank account. Something in the way she spoke just made my heart sink. I realized Ruth must have access to the card and pin number. There was no more to it, but I began worrying, even though I had no reason to. It was an instinct."

A few months after that was the trip to Mexico, then came her sleepy confession. He stated, "It all clicked into place, and I felt absolutely sickened. I couldn't believe it. When Ruth woke up, I confronted her, and she admitted everything. I told her to pack her bags and leave. It was heartbreaking, I loved her, and yet I knew I had no choice but to report her."

Last year, Ruth was given a suspended jail sentence of 16 months with required drug rehabilitation sessions. In the end, she stole nearly $10,000 from the woman in her care. Meanwhile, the judge praised Antony, calling his actions "commendable" and noting it "must have been a very difficult thing to do."

Ruth was back in court this month for skipping her rehab sessions and missing a meeting with her probation officer. The judge gave her another chance by imposing a curfew on her but warned that if she breaks any other rules she'll be put in prison. As for Antony, he said, "My anger has subsided now, and I want to help her. I feel as though the system has failed us so far."

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Wife Confesses To Crime While Asleep, So Husband Turns Her In To Police

The value and cost of at-home care for older people

Readers respond to an article by Simon Hattenstone about finding the right care arrangements for his 93-year-old mother

Simon Hattenstone’s article (I didn’t want anyone else to look after Mum – until I realised what she wanted, 27 December) almost exactly mirrors my mother’s story. Aged 94, frail but still living independently in a small cottage in London, she fell in late November and spent much of one night on the floor, in pain and disorientated. Hospital followed for one week at St George’s, Tooting. There she received the most amazing care with the doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff all meeting my expectations of the amazing NHS at its very best, even during these trying times.

But it was evident that she couldn’t return to her house alone. Luck struck. A close friend had recently died and her carer was available to move in with my mother. Outcome? An elderly woman who seems more contented and at ease than previously, perhaps because the worry of living alone at a great age has now been taken away. She has support, friendship and the most amazing care, and she’s still “at home” – that being her greatest desire of all.

But here’s the bit that Hattenstone’s article doesn’t address: money. In my mother’s case, and I’m assuming in Hattenstone’s too, there is sufficient family income to cover the costs of a live-in carer. For most this simply wouldn’t be an option.

Until a system is devised, and funded, that would offer all people dignity and independence in old age, we can’t rest easy. It’s so good that Hattenstone’s mother and my mother are now thankfully content and well cared for, but that should, in a civilised society, be the lot of all older people. It clearly isn’t now.
Jol Miskin 

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The value and cost of at-home care for older people

Vulnerable patient’s death at private hospital is a ‘scandal’, says mother

Report calls for greater regulation at facilities for those with learning disabilities after three deaths at Norfolk site

Ben King, 32, who had Down’s syndrome, died at Cawston Park hospital near Aylsham, Norfolk last year after going into cardiac arrest. Photograph: Family Handout/PA

by Andrew Gregory, health editor, and agency

Private hospitals receiving millions to care for adults with learning disabilities and autism should face greater regulation, a report has warned, as a mother whose son was among three people to die at a facility in Norfolk said his death was a “scandal”.

The failures at Cawston Park Hospital near Aylsham should prompt a review to prevent further “lethal outcomes” at similar sites, the report, commissioned by Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board (NSAB), concluded. It suggested that such facilities should “cease to receive public money”.

Ben King, 32, who had Down’s syndrome, died at Cawston Park hospital near Aylsham, Norfolk, last year after going into cardiac arrest.

The report’s author, Margaret Flynn, said that King had put on weight at Cawston Park, exacerbating his sleeping problems, and the day before he died his mother had pleaded with clinicians to get an ambulance for him.

No ambulance was sent and CCTV images shared with his inquest show he was subjected to rough handling and was slapped, Flynn told a virtual press conference.

The hospital closed earlier this year.

King’s mother, Gina Egmore, said his death was a “scandal”, adding: “If you ill-treat an animal, you get put in prison. “But people ill-treated my son and they’re still free.”

An independent report into the deaths of King, Nicholas Briant, 33, and 36-year-old Joanna Bailey, who all died at Cawston Park, said their relatives described “indifferent and harmful hospital practices”.

The report, published on Thursday, makes reference to “excessive use of restraint and seclusion by unqualified staff” and a “high tolerance of inactivity”. “Unless this hospital and similar units cease to receive public money, such lethal outcomes will persist,” the report said.

It added that “not a great deal has changed” since the abuse scandal at the former Winterbourne View private hospital near Bristol, which was exposed in an undercover BBC Panorama documentary in 2011.

The report into the deaths at Cawston Park has made 13 recommendations to a series of agencies including the Law Commission, suggesting a review of the law around private companies caring for adults with learning disabilities and autism.

“Given the clear public interest in ensuring the wellbeing and safety of patients, and the public sponsorship involved, the Law Commission may wish to consider whether corporate responsibility should be based on corporate conduct, in addition to that of individuals, for example,” the report said.

Flynn, who was commissioned by NSAB, said her report highlighted “failures of governance, commissioning, oversight, planning for individuals and professional practice”.

She said the three deceased “all had aspirations”. “They wanted to be near their families, to have friends and jobs or things to do each day,” she said.

“Their lives at Cawston Park hospital were characterised by unhealthy lifestyles of long-term under-occupation and were not shaped by their goals or interests. The distress of their parents sets an agenda that cannot be ignored.”

An inquest into King’s death heard he had been allowed to gain weight, there was a failure to diagnose the breathing condition obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and inadequate consideration was given to the use of the sedative promethazine.

Briant, who had learning disabilities, died at the hospital in 2018 after swallowing a piece of a plastic cup. His inquest heard he had a history of swallowing objects.

Bailey, who also had learning disabilities, died at the hospital in 2018. The charity Inquest said she died of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy and was not checked for two hours despite 30-minute checks being in her care plan.

Cawston Park was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission in 2019 and was closed by its owners, the Jeesal Group, earlier this year, NSAB said.

Joan Maughan, chair of NSAB, said: “This is not the first tragedy of its kind and, unless things change dramatically, it will not be the last. There will always be occasions when some people with learning disabilities and/or autism require specialist support for their very complex needs.

“This calls for a determined and robust commitment from all health, social care, housing and other agencies, at both a national and local level, to develop bespoke services matched to the individual, services that ensure safety, respect, care for their physical and mental health wellbeing, stimulating activities, and plans for a meaningful life in the future.”

A Norfolk police spokesperson said: “The circumstances surrounding Joanna’s death were fully investigated and a case was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service against several staff members for the offence of a care worker wilfully neglecting an individual.

“However, due to insufficient evidence concerning Joanna’s time of death, it was not possible to proceed with the case because it could not be established whether Joanna was still alive when staff failed to provide CPR.

“The investigation into Ben’s treatment is ongoing and a number of inquiries have been carried out in an attempt to trace the suspect who is wanted by police.”

PA Media contributed to this report

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Vulnerable patient’s death at private hospital is a ‘scandal’, says mother

Man in village near Aylesbury arrested after conning the elderly and vulnerable for significant money

The man is currently released on bail.

 

By James Lowson

A man has been arrested on suspicion of financial exploitation in Haddenham after elderly women paid significant money to him to complete basic small tasks.

Thames Valley Police reports that two elderly women in Haddenham were conned into handing over large amounts of money.

A series of witness reports described a man in the local community convincing elderly and vulnerable people to transfer over big money in return for small errands.

This man would befriend care home residents acting as if he was doing them a favour, when in reality he was stealing their savings.

A 64-year-old man from Cuddington has been arrested on suspicion of financial exploitation. The man has been granted bail until August 25.

In a joint statement from Investigating officer Detective Constable James Lacey and Rebecca Newman, Protecting Vulnerable People investigator, they said: “We are conducting a full investigation into these allegations. A man has been arrested and is now released on bail.

“Thames Valley Police thoroughly investigates reports of elderly and vulnerable people being targeted for personal gain.

“If you are concerned that you or anyone you know may have been exploited, or is at risk of exploitation, please call police on 101 quoting reference number 43210239551 or make a report online.

“You can also make a report completely anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers, by calling 0800 555 111.”

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Man in village near Aylesbury arrested after conning the elderly and vulnerable for significant money

Hospital security staff ‘abused’ vulnerable patients

by:  Victoria Macdonald 

       Health and Social Care Editor

 

Hospital security guards have been accused of abusing vulnerable patients after CCTV footage exclusively obtained by Channel 4 News shows an elderly man locked in a room for 11 hours without treatment, food or water. 

 

Stepping Hill Hospital, in Greater Manchester, has admitted unlawful detention and assault and settled out of court after a vulnerable man was “abused” and “falsely imprisoned”.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill, told this programme that in the same year there were two other similar incidents and three security guards were dismissed.

They said in a statement: “We took swift action to address those concerns, including informing the police.

“The way the patients were treated was entirely unacceptable. We have sincerely apologised to the patients, and have taken steps to ensure such distressing incidents do not happen again.”

Adult safeguarding expert Margaret Flynn, who led an urgent review into the Winterbourne View abuse scandal in 2011, said it was “shocking” this kind of abuse was happening in acute hospitals and called on the health watchdog to “throw a spotlight on this practice”.

‘Inhuman’

Steven Eddies, who has heart and lung conditions, was taken to the emergency department at Stepping Hill Hospital in 2018.

Mr Eddies was agitated, he complained of chest pains and he was struggling for breath.

CCTV footage of the night, obtained by this programme and Mr Eddies’ lawyers, shows the 67-year-old being pushed into a room by a security guard before the door is then held shut.

He was held against his will in the cubicle without treatment, food or water for 11 hours.

Mr Eddies told Channel 4 News: “Prisoners in jail get better treatment than I got. I was not treated like a human being in any way, shape or form.”

He added: “To this very day I often sit here on my own thinking about the whole issue but then again it’s no good me personally dwelling on it because it’s not going to get anywhere, is it?”

Mr Eddie’s lawyer Mark McGhee said: “Steven was abused. He was falsely imprisoned, he suffered damaging psychiatric harm and he lost his liberty.”

He added: “You’ve got security guards who receive a certain amount of training. Is that sufficient training given the nature of the individuals they are supposed to be protecting?”

No record

Freedom of Information requests, sent by the production company Primate Films, found 4,869 incidents recorded in 23 hospital trusts over the past three years involving “physical interventions” by security staff against patients.

Not all of these patients were vulnerable, according to the FOI responses, and some of the interventions may have been necessary.

However, none of that detail is recorded by the trusts.

Michael, whose name we have changed to protect his identity, worked for a decade as a security guard in hospitals in the south of England. He spent most of his time in A&E.

He began taking notes about the incidents he witnessed after he noticed there was an issue in the way security guards treated patients.

He said: “I’ve seen a child handcuffed to a chair in A&E. I’ve seen patients with blankets wrapped around their legs, tight so that they couldn’t walk away.”

He added: “They were treating, say, a 90-year-old or 80-year-old patient as they would a drunk 25-year-old in a nightclub.”

Government guidelines state that restraint should always be the last resort.

However, Michael told this programme it’s often the go-to course of action, because it’s the easiest.

As a result, he says, patients are coming to unnecessary harm on a daily basis and sometimes they are either too young or mentally unfit to “even realise that they’ve been assaulted”.

A spokesperson for NHS England said: “Any abuse of patients should not be tolerated in the NHS and hospitals who manage their security locally are expected to take action where needed to protect their patients and staff.”

‘It’s shocking’

Ms Flynn led an urgent review into Winterbourne View, a home for people with learning disabilities, after filming by the BBC’s Panorama programme exposed workers abusing the patients.

Watching CCTV footage of Mr Eddies’ treatment in Stepping Hill, she commented on the “incredible abuse of power” and “the needless use of seclusion”.

She added: “The contrast is that at Winterbourne View, patients were harmed by nurses and nursing assistants. Here, patients are being harmed by security staff.

“It’s shocking that it’s happening not merely in our specialist hospitals and private hospitals, but also happening in our acute hospitals where we least expect it.”

She told this programme that the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) should “throw a spotlight on this practice”, adding: “If it’s happening here, then of course, it’s likely to be happening elsewhere.”

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Hospital security staff ‘abused’ vulnerable patients

Covid: care home called police after woman sneaked in to see husband

Patricia Hodges, 75, wanted to move Graham, 83, to another home after being denied visits

Patricia Hodges outside Wayside House in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. She was unable to see her husband from March to October. Photograph: Andrew Fox/The Guardian

by Robert Booth

A care home called the police when a woman who had been denied visits to her 83-year-old husband for eight months amid the Covid pandemic sneaked in to get him out.

Patricia Hodges, 75, used to visit her husband, Graham, daily at Wayside House in Bromsgrove, where he was being cared for with Lewy Body dementia. But her anguish at being prevented from seeing him from March to October, and a row over fees, sparked an attempt to move him to another home, she said.

The incident on 28 October followed a dispute between the Hodges and the care home, which began with requests for visits being denied. It ended with the home’s owner being accused of “holding” Graham Hodges over missing fees, which the home strongly denies.

Wayside House granted Patricia a visit the day before she tried to enter the home – the first in 221 days. By then the family had booked a new home and they were fearful of further isolation in the second wave of the pandemic.

The dispute highlights a dilemma facing care homes being asked to balance infection control with the mental health of residents and their families.

Last week a woman was arrested when she tried to release her mother from a care home in Humberside which had also stopped normal visiting. MPs are set to debate the issue in parliament on Wednesday.

“I rang the doorbell and I wasn’t going to be let in,” said Patricia, describing how a handyman had left a side door open and she entered to get her husband out. She was confronted by the care home owner, Rakesh Kotecha, who warned she was a Covid risk and subsequently called the police. Officers eventually asked her to leave the building where she was staging an impromptu sit-in.

In the car park, the Hodges argued to police that the home was exceeding its rights. Officers spoke by phone to social services and other professionals, who said there was no reason not to let Graham leave. He was finally allowed to move the next day.

“When Graham came out to get into the wheelchair taxi, he let out a loud cheer and then started weeping when he saw Bethan [his daughter] and the grandchildren and told them he loved them all and would be able to give them a kiss now,” said Patricia.

Kotecha said staff and residents could not be put at risk for one family to be able to visit, and that strict visiting restrictions and policies were needed to keep the home Covid-free.

“Of course we would love to have families visiting,” he said. “In the pre-Covid world we had no restriction on visiting hours at all.” He added that the home has now started allowing visits in a specially prepared room.

In June, Gethin Hodges, the resident’s son, had asked for a five-minute visit for his mother. He wrote: “My father is very frail and I don’t believe he will have many months ahead of him and it may well be the last chance my mum gets to see him.”

The home replied that only end-of-life visits would be possible and offered to facilitate video calls. It said: “Our concern is that if there is a second pandemic that by reopening our doors too soon, [we] might allow the virus into the home.”

The dispute developed when the Hodges declined to pay a 20% fee increase which the home said was to reflect increased costs from Covid such as for PPE.

In August, increasingly concerned about Graham’s wellbeing without visitors, the family gave the home a month’s notice. Kotecha said he wouldn’t allow an assessment of the resident’s health to be made by the new home because of £12,000 in owed fees. But he denied the family’s claim he was trying to “hold” Graham until he received payment.

He told the family: “It is the norm in the sector that another provider would not take a resident who has outstanding fees, as the new provider would not want to end up in the same position.”

Kotecha said the money “was not an issue as the care and safety for our residents is first and foremost … A move from his home was not going to be in his best interest as his health may well deteriorate”.

A fortnight later, Kotecha informed the family their August notice had “expired” and the home needed a new notice period to consider moving Graham. The family said it provided this on 1 October but Kotecha said he never received it. In late October, when the family said they were coming to collect him, the home said it still needed a period of notice.

“We had written to the family on several occasions asking them to provide a rolling notice which would have taken care of this issue,” Kotecha said. “They failed to do so. They were sent a reminder on 6 October that if they still wished to move [their] dad then they needed to provide a notice, which there was no response to.”

The family said it consulted Worcestershire county council social services and a solicitor who advised that the home had no rights to hold him, if it was doing so. Graham has now moved into a new home and is in a period of isolation before visits can begin.

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Covid: care home called police after woman sneaked in to see husband

Judge says care home residents in England are legally allowed visitors

Mr Justice Hayden said courts were concerned about the impact on elderly people of lockdowns. Photograph: Rosemary Roberts/Alamy Stock Photo

A senior judge has said friends and family can legally visit their loved ones in care homes, in an apparent challenge to recent government policy that has in effect banned routine visits in areas of high Covid-19 infection.

Mr Justice Hayden, vice-president of the court of protection which makes decisions for people who lack mental capacity, said courts are concerned about the impact on elderly people of lockdowns. He has circulated a memo that sets out his analysis that regulations do “permit contact with relatives” and friends and visits are “lawful”.

He was responding to guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) last month telling thousands of care homes in England that visiting should be stopped in areas with tier 2 and tier 3 lock down restrictions, apart from in exceptional circumstances such as the end of life.

It triggered blanket prohibitions by some councils and sparked anguish from relatives who warn a lack of contact is leading to misery and early death in some cases. Within a week, Gloucestershire county council told care homes in its area to stop visits until next spring.

With the England-wide lockdown starting on Thursday, care home providers, families and groups including Age UK and Alzheimer’s Society, have called on ministers to this time make clearer provisions for visiting. The high court judge’s comments, issued on 15 October, could boost their cause.

Hayden said exceptions in the existing regulations mean contact with residents staying in care homes is lawful for close family members and friends. He said the court of protection was concerned about “the impact the present arrangements may have on elderly people living in care homes,” citing their suffering.

Relatives and residents have become increasingly despairing at a lack of access, with some feeling their loved ones are in effect “imprisoned”. A promise by the care minister Helen Whately on 13 October to start testing relatives to allow them to visit has not been fulfilled.

Whately had told parliament that selected close relatives could be treated like key workers and allowed into care homes saying: “I am planning for us to launch a pilot on that shortly.” But no pilot has been launched. DHSC officials say they are “considering plans” with and promise further details “in due course”. Rapid turnaround saliva testing has been mooted by NHS test and trace as one way of allowing more care home visits and is being trialled in Liverpool, where the mayor, Joe Anderson, on Tuesday said it would be used in care homes.

“We can no longer stand by and watch the erosion of people’s human rights and the impact of isolation through the effective blanket bans on visiting in care homes,” said a statement co-ordinated by the National Care Forum ahead of MPs voting on Wednesday about new lockdown restrictions. NCF represents charitable care home providers and its call is backed by 60 care organisations, health charities and relatives groups.

“We know that isolation caused by restrictions on visits from loved ones is intrinsically harmful and we have heard over and again the extreme anguish that this is causing. After eight months of visitor restrictions – we cannot continue like this – there is simply not enough time for many of those living in care homes today to watch and wait.”

Blocks on care home visits were introduced in spring to reduce the spread of the virus into settings with highly vulnerable populations. More than 18,000 people have so far died from confirmed or suspected Covid-19 in UK care homes.

A spokesperson for the DHSC said: “We know limiting visits in care homes has been incredibly difficult for many families, but our first priority remains the prevention of infections to protect the lives of vulnerable residents.”

Some care residents have been in isolation since March triggering rising concern at the impact on their mental and physical health.

John’s Campaign, which lobbies for greater involvement of family and friends in care, has launched a legal claim over the government’s visiting policy which details harrowing cases of separation, according to filings seen by the Guardian.

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Judge says care home residents in England are legally allowed visitors

'We sprang Grandma from the care home'

By Andrew Bomford

The decision to place an elderly relative in a care home is a difficult one at the best of times, but the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions on visiting make it even harder. For one family it seemed like the best solution before the virus arrived - but early last month they reversed their decision and brought 95-year-old Rita home.

It's late on a Saturday night, and a private ambulance pulls up outside a care home in Norwich. Rita Perrott, a frail 95-year-old, is helped out of the home in a wheelchair.

"Grandma!" shouts her granddaughter, Anna, delightedly. They give each other a long hug and a kiss. It's the first time in months such normal physical contact has been possible.

Anna appears almost giddy with the audacity of what they're doing.

"We've stolen grandma!" she proclaims.

"A kidnap?" Rita asks, playing along with the joke.

"It's a heist!" says Anna. "We've come late at night to steal grandma back!"

"I think they noticed," observes Ethan, one of the ambulance crew. The care home, of course, has agreed for her to be discharged.

Rita in the ambulance

Anna gently tells Rita they're on their way to the home of her daughter-in-law, Sue - Anna's mother. She adds that the reason for the move is that it had become almost impossible to visit her in the care home.

Rita is surprised by the late-night raid - they had no time to warn her in advance - but delighted that she will be able to spend more time with her family.

"Your poor mother!" she jokes.

Rita has dementia, and has grown increasingly weak and frail. She can no longer walk and even finds standing up painful.

Sue and the rest of the family are going to care for Rita now. The doctors say Rita is reaching the end of her life and the family could not bear the thought of her dying alone in the care home.

Even the ambulance crew is struck by the incongruity of what they're doing. "We only ever take people into care homes," they tell Anna and her mum. It's the first time they've taken anyone out of one.

Rita had been in the home, Homestead House in Norwich, since the start of the year. It began as temporary respite care, but morphed into a permanent arrangement. Then coronavirus came along, and scuppered all the family's hopes for the part they would play in Rita's care in her final years.

With the home in lockdown, at first visitors could get no further than the car park, with Anna and Rita separated by a glass door, speaking to each other by telephone.

Later, visits were limited to one person visiting every two weeks, at a distance of 2m and wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE).

It was a far cry from Rita's early weeks in the home, when Anna had even been able to help bathe her grandmother.

Although it had been an agonising decision for the family to place her there, Rita agreed it was the best care option for her, because everyone in the family was leading such busy and complicated lives. And she says she enjoyed living in the home, and making friends with the other residents.

For years she'd been cared for by her son, John, Anna's father, but he developed serious health problems and eventually had to have a leg amputated. For a while he struggled even to look after himself. A spell in hospital for Rita also exacerbated her problems; it was noticeable that her dementia was growing worse. 

Anna, Rita and John in March, discussing the future with a representative of the county council

At one point mother and son were both in hospital at the same time. When Rita was discharged, she was sent to Homestead House while a more permanent care solution was arranged, with Norfolk County Council agreeing to fund her social care.

"Well, you just keep a troshin'," Rita says a few days after the heist, lying in her newly delivered hospital bed in Sue's spare room, and being waited on by the family. Rita has a wealth of old rural Norfolk sayings. "Keep a troshin'" means to carry on threshing.

Rita is carrying on gamely. Basking in the warmth of her family's love and care, she has rallied to some extent and has been sipping sherry from a straw, along with lots of tea and cake. She has a wicked sense of humour and says, with a glint in her eye, that she's looking forward to watching the Tour de France later.

"She likes their legs, you see," explains Anna. "She's only human."

Anna, Rita and Sue

For 95 years Rita has been at the heart of a close family.

Anna's mum, Sue, who is divorced from Anna's father, says Rita practically brought up her three grandchildren - Anna, Elly and Rachel.

"We had some good times all together," Sue recalls. "Lots of laughs."

"Very happy memories… It's been lovely," agrees Rita.

"This is so nice, thank you all," she says, taking quick, short shallow breaths.

"And I do appreciate all you have done. It's such a lovely feeling being loved, and loving back.

"Isn't that nice when you can look back on a happy time, with a dear little family, who've made me so welcome, and so much appreciated. And I thank you all," she says. Then she punctures the moment before it gets too maudlin: "Speech over…"

The family says they understand that care homes have to be strict about visiting, in order to keep coronavirus out. They have no criticism of the care Rita received.

But as her health deteriorated they found the restrictions on visits increasingly intolerable.

Rita lost a lot of weight in the home, and as she grew weaker she was taken to hospital for a few days. And there, it turned out, visiting arrangements were much more flexible.

"We were delighted when she went into hospital, because we could go and see her," says Anna. "It was really lovely."

But within a few days the doctors said they couldn't help her. She was at the end of life, they said, and would need to return to the care home.

Anna, Rita sipping sherry, and Elly

Anna asked about the home's visiting arrangements when someone is dying and was told that one family member could visit twice a week for just 20 minutes a time. Again, they would have to wear full PPE and remain at a distance of 2m.

"You're not even able to hold your loved one's hand when they're dying," says Anna. "And the chances are you'd miss it anyway. The idea of her being on her own to die just sounded barbaric and very cruel, not how we'd planned for that to happen."

"The most important time of grandma's life, being with her family was taken away from us," says Sue. "That's why we made our decision for her to come here."

Sue recently retired as a nurse, so feels confident that she can care for Rita. But she says she's aware that many families in a similar situation would not have the space, time, or experience to do the same thing.

Rita's son John, her ex-husband, agrees. Despite the divorce, the family has remained close.

Rita, Anna and John earlier this year

"My greatest fear was that Mum would have passed away and we would not have been able to see her," he says. "I think there needs to be more flex in these arrangements. We support care homes in what they're doing, but at the same time it's a huge tension."

The so-called heist was planned in a hurry, out of a fear that the care home might lock down completely, and not let any of the residents out.

Now the family is concerned that restrictions on household mixing will become tighter.

Since Rita came home, other relatives have also been able to visit Rita, and will continue to do so as long as the rule of six remains in place. They are determined to make the most of the time they have together.

The family thinks Rita would have probably died by now had she remained in the home and they believe her days are numbered even now she is with them. It's something they have been coming to terms with over the last few weeks, and they speak openly and honestly with Rita about it.

"It's not just about dying, but dying well," says Anna.

"We're waiting for a chair upstairs," says Sue. "It's standing room only in heaven but Grandma needs a chair."

"We'll know when it's time," adds Rita.

I asked her how she feels about dying.

"It's fine with me. Everything has worked out ever so well. You only live once don't you?"

"Will you be sad when she dies?" Anna asks her sister, Elly.

"Yes, but I am the person I am because of her and what she did for me as a child," says Elly. "It would just be the end of a lovely life. It will be tainted with sadness because I can't imagine life without Grandma. But it's ending how she would have wanted it to end."

On cue, Grandma suddenly breaks into an old song.

"Now is the hour for me to say goodbye…"

"Oh blimey," exclaims Anna.

"Soon I'll be sailing far across the sea," Rita continues.

"While I'm away, oh please remember me…

"And I can't remember the rest!"

The family breaks into laughter. It will no doubt be a good way to go.

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'We sprang Grandma from the care home'