Care homes 'banning relatives who make complaints about elderly residents' treatment'

'The balance of power is totally weighed against the relative- raising concerns, and whatever the care home says is taken at face value by all of the authorities. So the relatives and the residents are the people with the least power, and it’s a major part of the problem'

The care industry employs about 1.4 million people in UK (Brand X/Getty Creative)

Care homes are banning relatives who make complaints about how their loved ones are treated, it has been claimed.

A number of families have alleged to the BBC that they have been denied access to their family members after complaining about staff, treatment or facilities.

One such case highlighted was that of Paul Doolan who says he was banned from visiting his elderly father Terry at a care home in Somerset. He says his father was suffering from cancer, and was also registered blind and needed hearing aids.

Mr Doolan says during his weekly visits he often found his father’s hearing aids were not working, prompting concerns he was sitting in effective silence throughout the rest of the week. He says that after complaining, he was sent an email by care home staff ordering him to “cease visits”.

He told the BBC: “I had limited time when I’d go in to see Dad. And because his hearing aids weren’t working properly, because his batteries had run out or they weren’t clean, it took me a quarter of an hour to sort this out [and] to start speaking properly to him.

“For the rest of the week, when I wasn’t there, he probably sat in total silence and… stimulation was very important. The care home fees were fairly hefty, and I thought it was the least they could do to make sure he could hear properly."

Terry was eventually removed from the care home to reside in another and died three months later.

Former care worker Eileen Chubb told the BBC that she sees similar cases frequently, with up to 60 families a year facing similar bans from care homes. She said: “Some people raise a concern, and when it’s not dealt with and they raise a concern a second time, they’re seen as serial complainers. That seems to be a tactic that’s used against families who are raising genuine concerns.

“The balance of power is totally weighed against the relative- raising concerns, and whatever the care home says is taken at face value by all of the authorities. So the relatives and the residents are the people with the least power, and it’s a major part of the problem.”

In response to the allegations, the Care Quality Commission has said it will be looking into how managers and staff in care homes respond to complaints. In a statement, Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Inspector for Adult Care, said: “As we improve the way we monitor and inspect care services we will explore how we can collect information to give us a greater insight into managers and staff respond to complaints which we know worries the public and can be an important indicator of a service struggling to provide good care.

“This will help us to focus our inspection activity and encourage improvement. We will also continue to use our enforcement powers to take action against providers where appropriate for the benefit of those using services.”