Did elderly dementia sufferers really write glowing web reviews of care home?
IT IS the kind of review anyone with a loved one in a care home would be delighted to read.
Signed by ‘Beryl C’ and posted online, it said she liked being in the Plas Isaf nursing home because it was cosy, people were friendly and she had a lovely room.
For good measure she added that ‘they make good cakes’ and she rated the home ‘excellent’ in terms of value for money, food and drink and cleanliness.
All of which came as something of a surprise to businessman Nick Corney when he was alerted by a relative to the review
‘She asked me to get her out of the home’
attributed to his 89-year- old mother Beryl. He said her dementia was so severe she was incapable of uttering or writing the favourable comment herself.
As the home faced accusations that it had posted the glowing review and others in the names of elderly dementia patients, Mr Corney, 63, said: ‘ My mother has severe dementia, she is only capable of intermittent speech. When she does talk she’s asked me to get her out of the home.
‘Having dementia is undignifying enough, without someone making up lies purporting to be from my mother. It’s a terrible insult, a total lack of respect and dignity.’
His mother, a widow, lived at Buckingham Palace and worked for the Queen’s catering team before retiring almost 30 years ago.
Her supposed review of the Plas Isaf home in Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales, was listed alongside several other similar comments on the carehome.co.uk website.
The nursing home, where fees are up to £3,000 a month, insisted residents had written the reviews ‘with the assistance of staff’.
But Mr Corney, who runs a holiday let business in Betws-y-Coed, said staff at the home had no idea who had written the reviews when he questioned them earlier this week. He said he was told they had been written by a public relations firm employed by the home’s owners Rosewood Healthcare Group.
Mr Corney added: ‘It’s a joke. My mother wouldn’t have used words like cosy and would certainly have no idea if the home was good value for money or not.
‘To me this is nothing short of a misrepresentation of my mother and the other residents. The way they have written the reviews, in a slightly child-like way with mild criticism, is just pathetic.’
Mr Corney questioned the motivation behind the reviews, which were posted over the past two months, after Rosewood said on Monday it would be closing the home because it is no longer financially viable. As of this week only 21 of the 31 beds were full.
‘Until now I’ve been very happy with the home,’ said Mr Corney, who has power of attorney over his mother’s affairs and should have been consulted about the review.
‘But to give us just 28 days to find another nursing home capable of caring for my mother is terribly worrying. Any change in environment for anyone with dementia can have serious physical problems because of the stress it incurs.’
A spokesman for Plas Isaf said: ‘It would not be appropriate to make any comment on a resident’s health. Our staff engage with all residents to ensure care is person- centred and relevant to the individual.
‘As part of this their likes, dislikes and comments about the home are regularly discussed. It is our policy that residents’ views are only made public with their permission.’
A spokesman for carehome.co.uk promised to investigate. ‘All our reviews go through an extensive moderation process before they are published,’ he said. ‘Carehome.co. uk is committed to ensuring the integrity of the content it collects and provides to its website users.’
Recognition PR, which handles media inquiries for Rosewood, denied the firm wrote the reviews and said they did not engage with residents or promote Rosewood on other websites.