Care home deaths to be monitored

Death rates in homes caring for elderly and vulnerable people in England are being monitored by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission.

The higher-than-expected number of deaths at two hospitals in Mid Staffordshire pointed to problems of poor care there.

Now the regulator has told BBC Panorama it is piloting a scheme that will see death rates in care and nursing homes scrutinised as part of a drive to root out failures in basic care.

Alison Holt reports.