The former children’s minister Margaret Hodge told a jury yesterday that she was “shocked and distressed” when two members of Fathers4Justice handcuffed her as she spoke at a conference in Manchester.

Hospitals and care homes are to face a major inquiry into the way frail elderly people are allowed to go hungry.

Gordon Brown’s endorsement of nurse-family partnerships could help boost the life chances of some of the most socially excluded children in society, writes Pat McFadden.

Craegmoor Healthcare, one of the UK’s biggest care home operators, has completed a £255m refinancing that opens the door for a potential sale of the business.

A care home deputy manager stole cash from residents with learning difficulties and misused his employer’s credit card.

A Care home’s application to take over a building next to a notorious A48 accident blackspot has been refused planning permission.

A generation of men and women are struggling to care for children, grandchildren, ailing parents and hold down a job at the same time, according to a new report.

The government is to abandon a controversial proposal to use expert witnesses to brief juries on the “myths” surrounding rape after judges warned the plan could lead to miscarriages of justice, the Guardian has learned.

Furious relatives today hit out at a decision to let a matron carry on nursing after she was found guilty of neglecting patients.

{mosimage}Patricia Linda Parker, 59, of Halifax, who is still matron at Laurel Bank Nursing Home, Holmfield, Halifax, was given a five-year caution but allowed to continue nursing after admitting misconduct.

Deputy matron Elisabeth Uttley was found guilty of three charges of misconduct and struck off. The 62-year-old from Sowerby Bridge, who has retired, did not attend the four-day hearing of the Nursing and Midwifery Council Professional Con-duct Committee.

A daughter of one elderly patient described the decison as “disgusting”. And in a separate development today, it emerged the home’s owner had warned other staff about phoning sex lines while on duty.

Relatives of the three ex-residents – Lily Leatham, 83, Agnes Moore, 69, and Ivy McGuire, who was 78 when she died in 2004 – said they were devastated. Mrs Leatham’s daughter, Marilyn Hartley, said: “This was never a witch hunt. It was to highlight the abuse and neglect suffered by our mum. These nurses were entrusted to care for her and failed.

“It was said that what happened to Mum was serious, sustained and systematic. If Mrs Parker goes back to Laurel Bank, I do hope the residents are looked after.”

A mother and daughter scooped honours in a ceremony to mark the dedication of those working for Somerset Care.