Latest news with #carehomes
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves forced a rise in care home fees, but this trust won't sacrifice quality
Questor is The Telegraph's stock-picking column, helping you decode the markets and offering insights on where to invest. Ensuring that loved ones with dementia are well cared for will be something that preys on the minds of many readers. About 4.2pc of all people over the age of 65 had been diagnosed with dementia by the end of April this year, according to NHS England data. That is a percentage that rises with age – and the UK population is ageing. Between 6,000 and 8,000 additional beds in care homes are being built each year, but this is not enough to keep pace with demand. A key aspect of the dementia care solution is the quality of specialist care homes, and the Target Healthcare real estate investment trust (Reit) was established in 2013 with that consideration in mind. Two years before its launch, Target's managers saw a care home sector in crisis. In 2011, sector leader Southern Cross had overreached itself, ultimately collapsing that summer.
BBC News
28-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
‘Exploited' migrant care workers ‘charged £10k for visas'
Overseas workers hired to look after elderly and vulnerable people claim to have faced threats, exploitation and a "climate of fear" at a care home at Lotus Care, which runs 10 care homes across north-west England, said they were often forced to work double shifts because of staff shortages, were denied sick leave, were underpaid and threatened with deportation if they also alleged they were charged thousands of pounds for free work visas by a Merseyside agency that helped to arrange the Care denied malpractice allegations and said its recruitment processes "adhere strictly to industry standards and the legal requirements" of the sector. The firm said it was "committed to upholding the highest ethical standards" and "unaware" of any visa fees being paid by migrant workers, saying it paid the Home Office for the relevant paperwork itself. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the care at five of the company's facilities "inadequate" or "requires improvement" in recent 2022 at Cressington Court in Liverpool, the CQC found a resident had not been bathed for four weeks and another had lost six stone in six last year, in what was its sixth inspection in a row, the CQC found "overwhelming failures" at Finch Manor, also in firm previously said it was working to address the issues raised by the CQC and improvements had been recorded by inspectors at two homes in the last 12 a male migrant worker, who spoke to the BBC as part of its eight-month investigation, said he remained concerned."There's constant pressure and there's a climate of fear because management use the threat of cancelling visas and deporting staff to silence any complaints," he said.A female migrant added that she "can't stand the mental stress"."They put more and more work on us," she said. "If anyone is calling in sick, we have to do double shifts. It's too much – it's like torture."A second female migrant worker told the BBC her friend had been ill and she had been "shouted at and threatened, she was told she needed to go to work".The BBC has seen messages from a WhatsApp group set up by Lotus Care's management to communicate with dozens of overseas several messages, the migrants are told their licence to work, also known as a certificate of sponsorship (CoS), will be "revoked". If a CoS is cancelled, overseas workers have 60 days to find a new employer before they are deported."I take it from the silence that you all happy for your licences to be revoked? I will start the process without further delay," the firm's owner, Jaydeep Patel, told the group in one another message, sent after a period of hot weather last year, a senior Lotus Care manager said calling in sick for a fever was "unacceptable", and told the workers to "take paracetamol".Mr Patel added: "40 degrees back home in India!!"Lotus Care said the messages were "selective" and they had been shared by "disgruntled staff members" who "left the service under investigation".Some migrant workers told the BBC the messages and the pressure they put them under affected their ability to work. 'A wad of cash' The migrants spoken to by the BBC were all placed with Lotus Care through a Merseyside care agency.A whistleblower, who formerly worked at the agency, said she had witnessed "more than 100" migrants arriving at the office between 2022 and were going there to make cash payments for CoS, the whistleblower told the BBC she had seen one migrant "handing over a wad of cash in an envelope". "It was obviously thousands of pounds," she said. "A few months later, I saw she was working in a Liverpool care home."If they all paid £10,000 per person, that's hundreds of thousands of pounds."She said two bosses at the agency were "making lots of money", driving expensive cars and taking expensive holidays."They were making a lot of money, you could see the newer cars they were driving, the bigger holidays they were going on," she workers for CoS is government said the cost, which is £284, should be covered by the employer."These migrant workers travelled halfway across the world for a new life and they just looked terrified," the whistleblower added."Some of the conditions they were to sent to work in were terrible."It's just very sad, the new life that they'd hoped for they didn't really get."The care agency denied the allegations. However, the BBC was told last year that a former senior staff member, Shyam Prabhakar, was actively involved in the illegal sale of care Prabhakar, the director of several takeaway businesses in Liverpool, described himself as a "recruitment consultant" in documents filed with Companies House. In a secretly recorded call with a researcher posing as a potential client, Mr Prabhakar spoke of care home jobs in Leicester, Peterborough, Kettering and indicated that the fee for a CoS, and a job, would be between £11,500 and £12,000"Once the interview is done and you get the offer letter, you pay half. And before we give the CoS, you should pay the remaining," Mr Prabhakar researcher asked whether the job was "guaranteed" if the money was Prabhakar said: "Yeah, yeah, yeah."When confronted about the allegations outside his home, Mr Prabhakar told the BBC: "I didn't do anything."He said that someone might have been "framing" him. 'Ripe for exploitation' Citizens Advice said the exploitation of care workers was something it heard about regularly."Every month we're seeing about 120 people in our advice centres," said Citizens Advice policy manager David Mendes da Costa."Our advisers often see people that have spent thousands of pounds - often more than £10,000 - in order to get a visa and a job in the care sector."They think it's going to pay well and they've been told they'll get good hours and good treatment."But when they arrive, they find out that the hours aren't there. [They] have pay withheld, and they're often treated worse than British employees."Workers with a CoS are reliant on their employer for continued sponsorship to remain in the UK."This puts the employer in a huge position of power and that's why it's really ripe for exploitation," said Mr Mendes da Costa. He added: "People don't want to raise problems because they know if they're dismissed, they'll not just lose their job, they'll also lose their right to stay in the country."Industry body Skills for Care estimated that around 185,000 people were recruited from overseas on health and social care visas between March 2022 and March 2024.A recent Unison survey of more than 3,000 migrants working in the care sector was told almost a quarter had paid illegal visa of those surveyed reported abuse from their Brown, a senior investigator at the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, told the BBC: "In the first quarter of last year, 61% of all our reports were concerning abuse in the adult social care sector."Mr Brown said abuse was often "in plain sight" and urged the public to look out for said: "If they're visiting relatives, the biggest one to look out for is people working excessive hours and rarely having any days off. So you'll regularly see the same face."Scavenging for food or asking for food is another [sign], as is not being very social, and having little interaction with others."A Home Office official said: "Allegations of visa abuse are taken incredibly seriously and will always be investigated thoroughly."The spokesman said the government was working to take action "against employers who abuse the visa system, with tough measures that will ban businesses who flout UK employment laws from sponsoring overseas workers". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MSP raises concerns about impact of immigration changes on care homes
A GREENOCK-BORN MSP has raised concerns over the impact changes in immigration policy could have on care homes in Inverclyde. During a discussion at the Scottish Parliament about the impact of plans set out by Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier this month, Jamie Greene highlighted the recent news surrounding the possible closure of Greenock's Glenfield Care Home. Greenock Medical Aid Society, which runs Glenfield, announced last month that it was facing the possibility of shutting the home down after almost a century in Inverclyde due to 'rising costs' and 'sector-wide challenges'. (Image: Office of Jamie Greene MSP) Mr Greene also shared the thoughts of Jim Melville, who manages Campbell Snowden House in Quarrier's Village. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes was asked about the potential impact on the labour market in Scotland following Sir Keir Starmer's recent statement in which he outlined plans to 'tighten up' the immigration system. Concerns have since been raised over the effect this may have on the care sector. READ MORE: Mr Greene said: 'Glenfield care home in Greenock is earmarked for closure, citing recruitment issues and the national insurance hike as primary reasons. 'Another care home manager, at Campbell Snowden House, warned that other care homes in my region will follow. 'He also admonished politicians for using language such as 'low-skilled workers' when it comes to the care sector, saying that they are highly-skilled jobs and that it is a very respectable career. 'What is the Scottish Government's plan B of the white paper comes to pass? 'How do we ensure that vital lifeline sectors, such as the care sector, will have the staff that they need in order to survive?' Bosses at Glenfield Care Home in Greenock recently announced that the facility faces closure due to rising costs (Image: Newsquest) Ms Forbes replied: 'Jamie Greene is right to identify the double hit of the immigration white paper and the hike to national insurance contributions, both of which could have devastating impacts on the care sector. 'That is not just my view – it is also the view of Donald MacAskill and others who work in the sector. 'The data is stark and the evidence is clear. We have enough qualitative anecdotal evidence to illustrate what the impact could be. 'Jamie Greene is also right in his comment about the use of 'low-skilled workers', because we know how critical it is that we have a workforce in the care sector. 'Few things are as important to us, as a society, as the care of vulnerable people.'
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Norfolk County Council's care home plan 'complete shambles'
A council will struggle to find providers to take over its care homes, an opposition leader has Norfolk County Council has said it was looking for other parties to run 17 homes currently managed by the private company it owns, Norse Labour's Steve Morphew said the situation was "a complete shambles" and accused both the council and Norse of failing to properly invest in the council said three of the sites run by Norse had "received significant investment", but more was needed to modernise other homes. The authority said it was "seeking to secure investment to support the transformation of its care estate in Norfolk to meet residents' needs both now and in the future". A report for the council's cabinet said, with Norse's contract coming to an end next March, the authority had begun testing the waters with other report said the level of interest was "very positive" with some parties looking at taking on all the homes, and others only some. But Morphew repeated previous concerns raised over a lack of investment in the homes and said "nobody is going to want to take over the whole of that contract all at once"."It will be broken up – some of it will be sold off. "The residential care provision from the county council as we've known it for decades will come to an end, there will be a fire sale to get rid of the liabilities,""It's a thoroughgoing mess, a complete shambles," he Leader Andrew Jamieson said three homes had been modernised since the Norse contract began in 2011, but further work was stalled by the Covid said interest rate increases after that made borrowing to fund improvements too expensive, but deals with new providers could lead to investment."We must keep pace with Norfolk's increasingly complex care needs and the expiry of this contract in March 2026 gives us a fresh opportunity to look at how we do that," he council said it was also looking for other providers to take over Norse's contract for housing with care services – which ends next March – and its contract for independent living services, which ends in October 2027.A spokeswoman for Norse Care said the firm had been investing in the modernisation and safety requirements of its homes."Over £20 million has been invested in the development of two new care homes and major refurbishment work on two further homes," she added. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Council to sell Exeter leisure centre site for £3.38m
A former leisure centre site could be sold off to care home developers for £ Clifton Hill leisure centre in Exeter closed in 2018 with Exeter City Council saying it would be turned into "family homes" by its development company Exeter City Exeter City Living folded in 2023 the city council leader promised residents the site would not be used for student accommodation.A council report prepared ahead of a cabinet meeting on Tuesday estimates the decision to rule out student accommodation has decreased the value of the site by £425,000. Bids for the two-acre site on the edge of the city centre were received in October site already had planning permission for 41 homes but none of the bidders wanted to take those plans highest bidder, Preferred Homes Ltd, wants to build a 72-unit home for older people with an average age of will be predominantly one-bedroom self-contained units with extra care services on to the report the care homes are classed as affordable and Preferred Homes said rent would be "no more than 80% of the open market rent and service charge for a similar open market product".Exeter City Council officers have recommended approving the deal which will be discussed by the city council's cabinet on Tuesday.
