Northern Care Home Ratings Revealed

Hundreds of elderly people are living in badly run Northern care homes, exposing them to filthy conditions, the risk of infections or lack of dignity. Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that 22 homes have been officially labelled “poor”.

The damning figures contained in a Commission for Social Care Inspection report also found that 156 North homes provide only adequate care. They were obtained by the Liberal Democrat party and passed on to the Sunday Sun.

MP Sandra Gibley, who is the Lib Dem spokeswoman for health, said: “It’s a disgrace that elderly people are still living in these awful conditions. There should not be this many care homes failing in the region. People are often scared to complain about poor standards as they believe their loved ones might face a backlash.

“But it’s up to everyone to ensure standards go up. These are some of the most vulnerable people in society. There really isn’t any excuse that people are living in these conditions.”

The report includes private, NHS and council premises which were divided into four categories: poor, adequate, good and excellent. A poor rating can mean that residents have no control of their own lives, untrained staff are not giving residents medication or helping them see doctors when ill, residents are being placed in shared rooms against their will, low standards of cleanliness and outbreaks of infection.

The majority of homes in the poor category are privately run rather than council or NHS premises. County Durham had the best overall rating for county council areas. However it had the lowest number in the “excellent” category.

Albert Nugent, leader of Durham County Council, said: “This confirms the people of County Durham continue to receive high-quality services commissioned by the council and other public sector agencies.

“We are keen to make sure that our services continue to improve including those provided in the community and we will do everything we can to raise standards.” Northumberland County Council area had the second highest rating and also the highest number in the excellent category with 20 per cent.

North Yorkshire was third and Cumbria came last. However, homes in Cumbria had the second highest number of excellent ratings but overall were ranked lower because of the number of poor and adequate homes.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “We are encouraged that the vast majority of residential care homes in Cumbria are delivering a satisfactory level of care and are particularly pleased at the relatively high number of homes judged to be providing a good or excellent service. We know that since these judgments were made improvements have been achieved at homes where standards needed to be improved.”