NEGLECT OF PARKINSON’S SUFFERER CAUGHT BY SON
WHEN Clive Morris became worried his frail, Parkinson’s-stricken mother was being neglected, he installed a spy camera in her room.
He had previously raised concerns that former dental nurse Sheila Morris, 84, was not being given enough to drink at the £5,000-a-month Priory Court Care Home in Epsom, Surrey.
But he instead filmed harrowing footage which he claims shows Mrs Morris being violently sick throughout the night without carers making any checks.
Her bedroom door was closed at 11.30pm on May 4 last year, and carers did not re-enter the room until 6.30am. This was despite her illness requiring a minimum of three checks each night.
When they returned, the footage showed that Mrs Morris was coughing and in distress with vomit around her mouth and on her sheets. Mr Morris, 47, was so concerned his mother could have ‘drowned’ in her own vomit, he made a complaint of neglect to Surrey Police. The matter was referred to the Care Quality Commission, which Mr Morris accused of ‘turning a blind eye’.
‘They never spoke to us or even asked to see the footage,’ he told the Mail. ‘That, to me, demonstrates utter contempt.’
Priory Court said: ‘Priory Court is committed to providing high quality care and service to its residents, their relatives and staff.
‘Mrs Morris became a resident in March 2015 and left in July 2016. Issues raised by her relatives, about her care, were thoroughly investigated by social services and the CQC which rates the home as good. The CQC closed the investigation in March 2017.’