14 November 2018
Chelmsley Wood Councillor (and Leader of the Green Party on Solihull Council), James Burn, has joined calls from Government ministers for CCTV to be used in care homes to prevent abuse and neglect.
The call comes after Chelmund's Court in Chelmsley Wood was rated 'inadequate' in all areas following an inspection in June this year. Solihull Council commissions some of the beds here and had been aware of problems at the home since last December. Chelmund's Court is a relatively new facility, run by Runwood Homes.
During the inspection, the Care Quality Commission discovered an ongoing risk of harm and abuse, mainly relating to medicine mishandling.
James said: "In light of the Runwood Homes scandal, I'm calling on the Conservatives to require CCTV in care homes as part of the procurement process.
I am concerned that the Council knew about this problem for so long, and was working with the home to sort it out, and yet was still rated 'inadequate' in all areas six months after they became aware of the problem."
Abuse and neglect appear to be a significant problem in care homes; a study earlier this year by University College London found some kind of abuse taking place in 91 of the 92 homes it looked at, prompting calls for the introduction of CCTV. Examples of 'abuse' in this study included: making residents wait for care; avoiding a resident with challenging behaviour; and not giving residents enough time to eat.
