The provider of a luxury care home where an 88-year-old woman with dementia was abused is facing possible criminal action as a government minister said he was “shocked and saddened” at her mistreatment.
After the Guardian published secret camera footage showing Ann King being abused at the £2,000-a-week Reigate Grange care home, the Care Quality Commission said on Friday it was “reviewing this evidence and working with other stakeholders to determine whether regulatory or criminal enforcement action is required”.
The move came after Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, called for an urgent investigation into the home, which is operated by the luxury chain Signature Senior Lifestyle, calling the abuse by workers “a total disgrace”.
Kate Terroni, the chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, described the footage as “devastating” and “appalling”, adding: “No one should be treated like this in their own home, and no family should have to witness their loved ones being treated this way.”
She urged any families who had concerns about standards at any care home to call the CQC hotline: 0300 0616161.
King was the victim of common assault by a cleaner and treatment by other care workers that Signature admitted was “reprehensible” and the result of “actions of a few rogue individuals”. The footage was captured on a secret camera installed on her bedside table by her children, who had grown concerned about her wellbeing.
Signature said it had immediately “informed all other residents and families that significant concerns had been identified at the home and encouraged them to report any concerns they may have to Surrey county council’s safeguarding team”.
The care minister, Neil O’Brien, said he was “shocked and saddened by the abuse and mistreatment in this case and my sympathies are with the victim and her family”. He said: “Everyone receiving care deserves safe and effective support and to be treated with dignity and respect.
“Following the allegations the police, local authority and Care Quality Commission acted swiftly to investigate. This included a criminal investigation, inspections and continued monitoring to make sure this does not happen again.”
King’s case has resonated among families of people in other care homes with high fees, who have expressed their own concerns for the treatment of their loved ones and contacted the Guardian to express solidarity with King and her family.
The chair of a commission on the future of social care convened by the archbishops of Canterbury and York said the “extremely disturbing” case shows the need to have more volunteers and visitors going into care homes to prevent abuse.
“Incidents of poor care are more likely to happen behind closed doors,” said Anna Dixon. “We need to be thinking about breaking down walls and making care homes much more embedded in the community with more volunteers and visitors going in and engaging with residents.”
The People’s Care Watchdog, a families group campaigning for greater access to care homes, called for all care operators to allow families to install CCTV on a routine basis and said what had happened to King was not isolated.
Signature Senior Lifestyle is ultimately owned by a £150bn Canadian institutional pension fund investor and charges among the highest rates in the UK for “luxury living, exceptional care”. The company, which has apologised for the conduct of its staff and said “these actions were committed by rogue individuals”, has denied any suggestion its ownership model had any bearing on King’s experience and said its owners allowed it to invest in its care teams with higher-than-average staffing ratios, pay and annual leave.
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Signature has said: “We were shocked and appalled at the experience of Mrs King – and reiterate our apology to her and her family – but the behaviour of a small number of reprehensible individuals should not tarnish the reputations of a wider staff team that is routinely praised for their dedication to residents.”
Richard Last, King’s son, has been keen to emphasise that other workers in the home were caring.
Reigate Grange is part of a growing sector of high-end care homes charging up to £100,000 a year, backed by institutional investors and private equity firms.
The CQC said it was determining whether regulatory or criminal action was required after first seeing the footage on Thursday. Signature said it had made CQC aware of the footage in May and engaged with them about it at length since then and so was “surprised they have now U-turned on previous comments that they were reassured by our actions”.
A spokesperson said Signature has “responded in the strongest way possible to these rogue individuals” and “we have an exceptionally robust safeguarding policy”, which the CQC is said to have recognised in a May inspection report.
“We will continue to work with the CQC to answer any further questions they have and to reassure them as to how seriously we take our responsibility to keep residents safe,” the spokesperson said.
Lady Andrews, the chair of the House of Lords committee on social care, said she was “shocked and dismayed” by King’s treatment. “It betrays the fundamental principles and values, the essential kindness and compassion, that she had the right to expect and that everyone should be able to count on in every care setting,” she said.
Caroline Abrahams, the charity director at Age UK, said anyone who treated an older person in a way that was dehumanising or denied them dignity and respect had “no place in the care sector and should be dismissed, and when a criminal offence may have been committed the police should always be involved”.
Streeting said: “Providers who cannot keep their residents safe have no place in social care. Labour will force them out of the market. A country that supports people from cradle to grave needs a quality care service. The next Labour government will build a National Care Service to ensure good levels of care for all who need it.”
Helen Wildbore, the director of the Relatives & Residents Association, said the experience of King and her family would chime “chillingly” with many families who have been ignored when trying to raise concerns about care.
“The system is stacked so heavily against people living in care and their families,” she said. “Time and again we hear of people being failed by the regulator. Abuse and toxic cultures thrive when there is little monitoring and accountability, by the management, by the owners, by the regulator and by safeguarding teams.”
How to choose a care home
Ann King’s abuse at one of Britain’s most expensive care homes has left families wondering how best to choose a care home. Emma Williams, helpline officer at Relatives & Residents Association, shared her guidance:
Are you being sold spas and gyms your loved one can’t use?
How do visits work? Poor visiting policies appear linked to problems with care.
Do all staff, including cleaners and cooks, have dementia training?
How often does the home review care plans? It should be monthly.
How well is the home connected with local community groups?
Check Care Quality Commission reports and beware homes where the rating yo-yos.
How does the home support hospital, GP and dentist appointments?
Do the night staff have supervision on site? Beware reliance on emergency numbers.
