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When penning our comments, it is difficult not to let our absolute anger and despair creep into the text. Care Campaign for the Vulnerable (CCFTV) has for very many years been raising serious failings with providers. We have been imploring them to consider safety monitoring as an antidote to possible abuse, wilful neglect and simple carelessness when looking after vulnerable elderly people. Yet, the vast majority have refused to adopt such systems, instead of hiding behind the ‘privacy’ argument. As a result, all forms of abuse continue with some incidents detected. However, it is very likely very many episodes of abuse are never being discovered, given many of the vulnerable residents subjected to really poor care are unable to articulate their concerns. Unexplained bruising is now a regular thing, as is unkemptness, dramatic weight loss, unmanaged incontinence, dirty stained clothes, dehydration, infection, etc. CCFTV are seeing vast numbers of issues of this type across many care organisations.

It's clear to us that most Care Providers don’t consider the family's anguish. Their senior management teams regularly faced with allegations of serious care shortcomings appear not to care about the possible abuses that are perpetrated in homes under their operational control. The automatic response seems to be one of concealment and suppression, with an occasional apology when a raised incident is verified. Families have had to resort to placing hidden cameras or taking photos when visiting, to ensure evidence is available to support a serious concern. With very few exceptions, providers genuinely don’t seek to be proactive about ensuring care delivery is of a high standard. Large corporate care home companies point to the audits they undertake and the processes they have in place to monitor services. Yet they continue to be exposed on a very regular basis for serious care failings and simply cannot countenance that ’tried and tested' processes are little more than platitudes that have for years been trotted out to try and defend the indefensible. This despite inspection ratings often suggesting they have an outstanding service. That points to the inspection process being badly flawed and the CQC management of issues being at best reactive and at worse woefully inadequate.

Many of these corporate companies are quick to social media with a good news story or with a positive inspection result, but the reality is much darker. Well remunerated executives simply don’t care about your mum or dad. They know that safety monitoring options have been available for years and completely ignore such possible use. They don’t want you to know what is happening in homes, which means nothing will change, abuses will continue and the very worst part....is much of the will happen in silence and without anyone ever knowing.

CCFTV would urge families not to consider care homes unless they have safety monitoring in place. Insist with local authorities that they support care packages at home. We would also urge families to begin a process of naming and shaming companies and to become much more outspoken about inadequate care.

It is lamentable that Government has done absolutely nothing about this crisis. CCFTV have consistently urged Ministers to deal with this matter and mandate safety monitoring systems in care homes. They like many providers have simply ignored our pleas.

We therefore again urge some of the largest providers in the sector to set an example for all. Barchester, HC-One, Care UK, Four Seasons Healthcare, Bupa Care Homes need to step up and demonstrate their commitment to their residents and families