Elderly slapped, ignored and left crying for help: Shocking documentary reveals scale of care home abuse

Shocking footage from an undercover report has shown elderly residents being taunted and assaulted at a London care home - with one woman begging to be taken to the toilet 321 times in a single hour

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by Kayleigh Dray |
Published on

Shocking secret footage filmed inside Oban House care home in Croydon, south London, has exposed the shocking state of elderly care in Britain.

The investigation by BBC One's Panorama showed great-grandmother Yvonne Grant begging to be taken to the toilet for up to two-and-a-half hours. Staff told her to use her incontinence pad and then tried to make her walk to the toilet, despite the fact she had been unable to walk for years.

Via Panorama
Via Panorama

Tragically the hidden camera, which was placed in the room by concerned granddaughter Vanessa Evans, captured the final undignified days of Ms Grant's life, as she died less than a month later.

They were her last days; they should have been comfortable, stress-free and filled with people who would help her. She certainly shouldn't have been left to sit crying for help for hours on end.

But, horrifyingly, this was not an isolated incident.

Residents at a care home in Essex were physically assaulted, ignored and left in their own excrement for hours.

Via Panorama

Mistreatment was also uncovered at another care home in South London, where two care workers were convicted of common assault for how they handled a patient.

The Panorama journalist saw a partially paralysed woman being slapped, mocked, bullied and taunted. Another resident was left lying in his own excrement for an hour after two care workers turned off his call bell without helping him.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the CQC's new Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care said: “The care shown in the Panorama programme is unacceptable. My sympathy goes out to the people affected. I am angry that the good care we know is provided is undermined when people are failed in this way.”

Via Panorama

A spokesperson for HC-One, which owns Oban House, said: “The secret filming that took place in 2012 shows shocking and distressing failings. We do not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We apologised unreservedly to the late Mrs Grant and her family, and we remain deeply sorry for the distress that was caused. This should never have happened.

“As soon as we became aware of the situation we acted immediately to notify the Care Quality Commission, the local Safeguarding Team and the Police. We suspended and later dismissed the staff involved.”

In total 15 people have now been suspended at the two homes and eight sacked.

Panorama - Behind Closed Doors: Elderly Care Exposed, airs on Wednesday at nine on BBC One

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