Sandwell care home alleged to have locked service user out

The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported in September last year about a service user who lived at Selbourne Mews care home, in Smethwick, set alight bed sheets and covers with their own lighter, despite care records stating the lighter should be held by staff.

It follows a report by the CQC in September last year which rated safety and leadership at the care home as “inadequate”.

But now it is alleged serious breaches of care were undertaken, with one former manager saying they were “appalled at the lack of care and financial gain” at the care home.

The care home has been approached for a comment and said while it could not comment directly on any of the individuals under its care, as a responsible care provider it worked closely with the CQC and local authorities to ensure that a high standard of care is delivered.

Following an investigation by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the service user, who had mental health issues and a learning disability, had first entered Selbourne Mews in September 2020 under an emergency placement, following the breakdown of a previous placement in the Greater Manchester area.

His social workers, based in Rochdale Council, had an agreement with Caretech Ltd, the owners of Selbourne Mews, to take them in as they needed “urgent accommodation”.

He then suffered a rapid decline in mental health between the dates March 19 and March 22, 2021, before setting fire to his own bedding – at the height of the pandemic and stringent effects of lockdown.

One former manager at Selbourne Mews, who wished to remain anonymous, told the LDRS that following the incident the service user was evicted from the care home “without any notice given”.

Speaking to the LDRS, they said: “I remember the service user was initially taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation.

“My personal feelings are that it was quite distressing, because we knew he had got nowhere to go. The mental health team in Sandwell were also saying to me on that night they did not have anywhere for him to go.”

The former manager alleged staff were instructed to not allow the individual back into the premises and to “change the codes” on the doors to prevent him access to the care home.

The care home continued to not allow him entry into Selbourne Mews, despite three attempts by the service user to get back into the building.

It is also alleged staff were also told to “ignore him”.

It is claimed he then spent the night on the streets in Sandwell with no medication, food, or money until he was picked up by the local mental health team the following day.

The former manager said: “It’s just so upsetting. This guy was in a care home for a reason, and a duty of care was not followed.”

Rochdale Council confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service they filed a complaint on March 24 last year to Caretech Ltd over the incident.

The complaint will put more pressure on the care home to improve its standards of care provided and its pledge to make necessary improvements.

A spokesperson for Selbourne Care, the operator of Selbourne Mews, said: “Selbourne Mews provides accommodation for persons with learning disabilities or mental health conditions with complex support needs.

“We do not comment directly on any of the individuals under our care but as a responsible care provider we work closely with the CQC and local authorities to ensure that a high standard of care is delivered.

“We acknowledge that a number of issues were identified by CQC following their inspection in May 2021, but we are satisfied that since the time of that report progress has been made towards returning the service to the high levels of quality we expect.”

This investigation, worked on for over four months by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, highlights the ongoing adult social care crisis.

Local authorities are responsible for adult social care in England, which have a legal duty to fund care for those whose needs meet the national eligibility criteria, as set out by the 2014 Care Act.

The money comes via the local government finance settlement, combined with business rates and council tax. In addition, the government has provided ringfenced funding over the years. Total spending on adult social care was about £21.2 billion in 2020-21.

But English councils have lost a combined £7.7 billion from adult social care budgets between 2010 and 2020, with people needing support face longer waits for less care, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) warned.

Public spending on adult social care would have to increase by at least 9.7 per cent between 2019/20 and 2024/25 to provide care to the growing number of people eligible for publicly funded care in the current system, according to the Institute for Government.

There is also a picture of consistent failure across the country.

Last year, the Care Quality Commission found that 15 per cent of adult social care providers required improvement and 1 per cent were inadequate.

And in 2019, The Guardian revealed private companies now own and run 84 per cent of beds in care homes in England, as local councils have almost totally withdrawn from a key area of social care they used to dominate.

Selbourne Mews is currently listed on Sandwell Council’s website as a care home with “nursing, mental health, learning disability and domiciliary care”.

Selbourne Care, the operator behind Selbourne Mews, is owned by Caretech Community Services.

CareTech Community Services Ltd, which recorded £10.5 million in pre-tax profits in 2019, was founded by the Labour donor Farouq Sheikh.

In 2020, he was appointed an OBE for “services to specialist social care”.

He is also the director of the company, as well as executive chairman of CareTech plc, its parent company.

A spokesperson for Sandwell Council said: “We can confirm that we are currently working with the provider via our internal processes and therefore we are unable to comment as this is a live process at this juncture.”