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.

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.”

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.

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

Health inspectors will start making unannounced spot checks on hospital wards amid fears that elderly and vulnerable patients are being increasingly neglected, it has emerged.

{mosimage}The Healthcare Commission, which regulates hospitals, believes the dramatic move is necessary because standards of care for older people are being breached so regularly. It believes a “culture of neglect” has built up in some hospitals, made worse by mixed-sex wards and the attitude of some staff, resulting in geriatric patients being left lying in soiled sheets and not being allowed to visit the toilet.

Some pensioners are not being helped to eat, leaving them at risk of being given food to which they are allergic or choking on food they cannot swallow.

The Healthcare Commission is now planning to carry out unannounced visits to hospitals where families and patient groups claim there have been repeated breaches in care or dignity.

Its chief executive, Anna Walker, said: “We have been looking at this, and where we see a cluster of concerns, and feel we are not getting the full picture, we would want to go in without giving the hospital prior notice, and carry out a full check.”

A Government-commissioned report by the commission will reveal damning details how the culture of neglect has built up in some hospitals. It will also report on 23 investigations carried out at hospital trusts where standards have not been met.

Danny Wilde collected his last pay cheque from the Tulip pork factory in Norfolk on Friday before joining the dole queue.