Runcorn care home accused of neglect by elderly resident’s mother

The daughter of an elderly care home resident who fell ill 32 in just 11 months says she has sent social services a “begging email” to warn her mother “is going to die” unless urgent improvements are made.

“She was hurt in every way – it was devastating to see,” said Kylie Gobin, whose mother Winifred Tubb lives at St Luke’s in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Mrs Gobin spoke to the BBC as part of an in-depth investigation which found almost one-in-five care homes in England were rated as “requires improvement” or “inadequate”.

A spokesman for Halton Borough Council, which operates St Luke’s, said it was “investigating” the complaint and “some lessons have been learnt”.

The BBC’s UK data journalism team analyzed Care Quality Commission (CQC) statistics and found the regulator now considers more than 2,500 care homes in the UK to be “in need of improvement”.

The number of “inadequate” homes stood at 194 across the UK, but this figure will drop in 2022 and 2023.

This may be due to service improvements, care homes closing, or both.

Common themes in struggling homes include:

• Gaps in staff training
• Medication mismanagement
• Accurate records are not kept
• Facilities that do not meet safety and hygiene standards
• Citizens’ rights to privacy and dignity are not upheld
• Poor management oversight

Mrs Gobin said her mother – who had worked in the care sector before being diagnosed with dementia in 2010 – was moving to St Luke’s in June 2021.

“Since August, he has repeatedly fallen and fractured his hip in October 2021,” he said.

“There was an internal inquiry but no lessons were learned until I sent the email in April 2022.”

A lower bed, sensory mats and an alarm – controlled by a button outside Mrs Tubb’s room – were installed so that staff could be alerted if she tried to get out of bed.

On at least two occasions, Mrs. Gobin said she found the alarm had been turned off.

“In November 2022, I visited and found my mother on the floor, with the alarm going off,” he said.

“I cried – every emotion you can imagine went through me. I had to leave the room because I was so angry.

“It took him two or three hours to get into that position because he wasn’t mobile.”

Despite having given assurances, only a few weeks ago, Mrs Gobin told the BBC she discovered the alarm had been switched off again.

“I only knew about 12 falls, but in the years since I accessed all my mother’s medical records (and) when I went to see her, I found out that she had 32 falls.

“I’m pretty broken, I just don’t know because the bruises are going to be under his clothes. He must be in a lot of pain.”

In the last months of Mrs Tubb’s life, her daughter recalled when she called for the strength to tell him she was “in so much pain”.

“At first I thought he was hurt from another fall, but I didn’t see anything.”

Mrs. Gobin asked the guard to change her mother’s incontinence pad while she stayed in the room.

“I immediately knew something was wrong,” he said. “He’s covered in blisters – he must be in terrible pain. I’m blown away, I’m confused.”

Despite paying hundreds of pounds a week for her mother’s care, Mrs Gobin said she had to go to the pharmacy to buy soothing cream.

“People can blame it on a lack of resources or staff, but this is basic hygiene and care, surprisingly,” he said.

Mrs Tubb died, aged 78, after contracting Covid in December 2022.

Mrs Gobin, who called for an independent review of her mother’s treatment, told the BBC that the CQC had initially failed to respond to her concerns.

A spokeswoman for the regulator said: “In January 2023, we received some information of concern from relatives of people who had lived at St Luke’s about treatment in 2022, which the CQC did not follow up on until they contacted us again. April 2023, which led to an inspection of the home in May 2023.

“We apologize to them for not acting as quickly as we should have the information they gave us and give people a meeting with us so they know what happened.”

BBC North West spent months talking to concerned families across the region who have or have relatives in care homes.

Despite paying up to £1,000 a week for care, some families have shared harrowing stories of how their loved ones are being neglected.

They include claims:

• Broken bones in multiple falls
• Residents were not washed and left in unsanitary conditions
• One patient had a bottle of urine on the breakfast table, along with the food
• Vulnerable people are not fed properly

Down the corridor from Mrs Gobin’s mother at St Luke’s, ex-council worker Raymond Thomas, then 65, began staying at the house for five months.

He had been diagnosed, aged 60, with dementia in 2017 and was treated at home by his wife Paula until November 2022, when he needed additional support.

The Thomas family found St Luke’s after doing research online, noting the home’s “good” rating on the CQC website.

“It was chaos from the first week,” Mrs Thomas said. “He was only there for two days and fell out of bed.

“There is no sensory mat on the floor, they told me that it will not be on the ground for more than two hours, but we do not know. It is November, it is cold.”

Mrs Thomas added: “He falls more and more after in different areas of the house, I don’t want to leave him.”

On several occasions, she said her 47-year-old “quiet family man” husband had not been washed or changed.

“After five months there he was rushed to the hospital with sepsis, while at the hospital we noticed his teeth were black and his hair was greasy.

“This is a person who is always clean.”

The father of two, who also has three grandchildren, remained in hospital for a month until his family found another care home.

He died in January 2024.

The Thomases, along with four other families, took civil legal action against St. Luke’s, alleging neglect.

His family is all represented by the same law firm.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first house we have represented multiple clients,” said Leigh Day partner Emma Jones.

“Often people will tell me that they have gone to solicitors because they have complained to the house and then the ombudsman and CQC but they have not got an answer.

“Therefore, they are forced to litigate to try to get the answers they so desperately want.”

Ms Jones told the BBC that litigation often only started after the resident had died because “family members were afraid of the consequences of complaining”.

“The CQC can say a service needs improvement or is inadequate but how often do we see further action? I haven’t seen this in any case,” he said.

Halton Borough Council said it was constantly aiming to “provide good care for people”.

A spokesman said it was “regrettable that the family had to complain about the care and support of family members.

“All concerns have been fully investigated by the adult protection team, and a number of lessons have been learned following these complaints.

“We have informed the family members of the findings of our investigation.

“We are unable to provide further details due to the ongoing legal case.”

The CQC said it was “monitoring homes closely while they are being improved” and “will be returning to inspect to check the improvements that have been made”.

Helen Wildbore, director of charity Care Rights UK, said “time and time again” she and her team have spoken to families and care residents who have had similar experiences.

“They told me they felt trapped in a broken system, that this national shame is happening to care services in this country,” he said.

“The CQC needs to be there to ensure that standards are set and it needs to be there to represent the voice of people who use care services.

“We really need to see a change.”

The CQC said its “top priority” was to “ensure the health and well-being of people” using care services.

“This includes listening to what they – and their loved ones – have to say about the service, to help us decide when and where to check, so we have the full picture,” a spokesperson said.

However, the CQC has no legal powers to investigate individual incidents.

The BBC also spoke to care home managers and staff who said they were under pressure.

“We are very short staffed,” said Mike Padgham, who runs the Independent Care Group which advocates for care homes.

“Across the UK, there are 152,000 vacancies,” he said. “By 2035, we need 440,000 additional staff in social care.”

A carer from a North West home, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “People don’t want to stay anymore – especially now because you’re not valued.”

Careers told us they did not believe the CQC was “doing enough point checks”.

“Nine times out of 10 something is under the radar,” he said.

The Lancashire-based manager, who owns homes rated “good”, was also critical of the CQC.

The manager, who also wished to remain anonymous, said: “Going out to check is a very unpleasant idea because one day everything can be good, the next day it will be a disaster.

“We must have a close relationship with our inspectors and we must not be afraid of them.”

The CQC, which is currently under review by the government, said it was “working hard to ensure we minimize the impact on providers while doing everything in our power to ensure people receive good quality, safe care”.

The spokesperson added: “We are reviewing and enhancing the training we give to CQC staff to protect the welfare of providers after inspection.”

Remembering her late mother, Mrs. Gobin said: “I can’t change the past, but we can shape the future.

“People deserve the right to a dignified life when they enter a care home. We need to be open and honest​​​​​​​and learn from all this.”