Regulating care of the vulnerable remains crucial

Anyone with an elderly or infirm relative who needs the help of carers - and surely at some time in our lives that will include us all - cannot help but be appalled at the treatment given to its clients by the former Allied Healthcare Maidstone.

Patients were left in soiled bed linen for hours and an allegation of assault on a patient by one of its staff was never reported to the police.

Equally distressing is the finding by the Care and Quality Commission that no proper background checks were carried out on its staff - meaning that vulnerable and defenceless elderly or distressed people could be put at risk from assault or sexual abuse in their own home.

That firm’s Maidstone branch closed shortly after the condemning report was published and now the whole company has been bought out by new owners, CRG who we sincerely hope and expect will do a much better job.

But the case highlights the importance of these regular checks by the CQC.

If it hadn’t been for that inspection, for how long would the shabby care have continued?

The patients of care service providers are by definition more vulnerable than the most of society.

They rely on carers sometimes for help with the most basic of human functions, and often fear upsetting them for dread of the consequences. Many may have no relatives to turn to for help and may even be housebound. Others of course may not even understand if they were being abused or exploited.

Well done to the CQC for potentially preventing a far worse situation by revealing the shortcomings of this firm.

‘Patients were left in soiled bed linen for hours’