Bereaved relatives meet over ‘Britain’s worst care home’

Family members of residents who died at “Britain’s worst care home” said their “confidence” in the system is yet to be restored.

Relatives of the men and women who died as a result of neglect and poor care at Orchid View made the comments when they met health and social care professionals in charge of changing the system at a conference organised by West Sussex County Council.

More than 30 recommendations were made in June following a serious case review (SCR) in a bid to prevent a repeat of the “institutionalised abuse” which led to the deaths of five elderly people.

The SCR was launched following an inquest last year which found serious failings at Orchid View in Copthorne, West Sussex.

West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield heavily criticised the quality of care at the home, run by the now defunct Southern Cross Healthcare, and identified failings such as a lack of respect for the dignity of residents, poor nutrition and hydration, mismanagement of medication and a lack of staff.

Call bells were often not answered for long periods or could not be reached, and the home was deemed “an accident waiting to happen”, the inquest heard.

At the meeting on Friday, called After Orchid View, relatives were informed of the progress which has been made since the SCR was published and spoke about what they felt needed to change across West Sussex to ensure that events were never repeated.

Representatives from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the county council, and other health and social care professionals were also present, the council spokeswoman said.

The multi-million pound privately-run home was said to have had a “five-star” feel when it opened in September 2009 which “seduced” families into believing it was well run.

But one staff member at the £3,000-a-month home said: “It was like a car that looked good from the outside but it was knackered.”

The coroner ruled that all 19 residents suffered “sub-optimal” care but that five of the residents – Wilfred Gardner, 85, Margaret Tucker, 77, Enid Trodden, 86, John Holmes, 85, and Jean Halfpenny, 77 – died from natural causes “which had been attributed to neglect”.

She also questioned whether a CQC inspection which gave Orchid View a “good” rating in 2010 – a year before it shut – was “fit for purpose”.

A statement issued by relatives said it was important that people did not forget those who suffered at Orchid View.

It continued: “There is a long way to go and it hasn’t restored our confidence just yet, but getting everyone at the event showed that those in authority are willing to make the necessary changes that are so desperately needed in West Sussex.”

Council leader Louise Goldsmith said: “What’s been most important to me in the wake of the horrors of Orchid View was that the families of those poor people who died had a voice and were listened to.

“They have, quite rightly, been incredibly vocal about the changes that need to be made to the care industry to ensure that nobody has to go through what they, and their families, went through.

“What was clear to me was that there has been a lot of progress since the report was published but there is more that we all need to do.

“Every single person in that room was committed to doing what was needed to ensure that we never have a repeat of Orchid View again.”

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