Care homes banning complaining relatives, investigation finds

An investigation carried out by BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme has revealed that a number of care homes in England are banning relatives from visiting elderly residents after they companied over the quality of care.

The programme included cases where a Somerset care home prevented a man from visiting his 93-year-old father after he questioned the home’s quality of care, and where the children of a woman in a home in Essex say she was evicted after they made a complaint.

Jemma Garside, of Duncan Lewis solicitors, says she regularly sees cases such as the above.

She said: “People would be surprised to know that being in a care home is not the same as being in a normal home. You have a contract with the care home, the resident and public body if they're funding it. The care home sets the terms and the conditions, and you have to obey them."

In an interview with the BBC, Andrea Sutcliffe of the CQC, commented: "Later this week we will be publishing information to clarify people's rights and our expectations of providers, so that people living in care homes, their family and friends can be more confident that their concerns will be listened to and acted upon by providers responsible for delivering safe, compassionate and high quality care."