The Gables: Key agencies not told about hidden camera abuse

Key agencies were not told about the "awful abuse" of an elderly care home resident caught on a hidden camera, a BBC investigation has found.

The footage showed Ron Carter being hit at The Gables, Cambridgeshire, before he died in May 2020.

Neither the local safeguarding board or local NHS, who funded his care, were made aware of the footage.

Made up of multiple agencies, the board said it had since reviewed its processes.

Mr Carter, 82, had dementia and Alzheimer's and a camera, which was disguised as a bedroom clock, caught a carer hitting him and staff eating his food at the home in Whittlesey, which was run by HC-One.

Two people were arrested but not charged, while police found that eight other carers' "actions as captured on the covert footage were not compatible with their role".

HC-One, one of the UK's largest providers, removed the staff and sacked the agency involved.

Ron Carter had been at The Gables for six months before he died

The BBC has learned the safeguarding board was not made aware of the footage, despite having representation on it from the investigating force Cambridgeshire Police.

Neither was the local NHS, but the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Cambridgeshire County Council were informed of it.

Ron's daughter, Max Carter, told the BBC: "I'm surprised that the police didn't report it... I wasn't aware it wasn't reported to the safeguarding team or the NHS."

In 2022 - two years after Mr Carter's abuse - the local NHS and council stopped sending new residents to HC-One homes, shortly after the BBC started reporting issues with the company.

HC-One would later admit "unacceptable mistakes" in three deaths in 2019 linked to another home, The Elms, in Whittlesey.

Jeanne Poole and Kim Arden, whose relatives died after being residents of The Elms, said: "There must be a proper audit trail so that all safeguarding concerns are actually recorded and fully shared," they said.

They "believe more prompt and decisive action would have prevented other deaths and further suffering".

Margaret Canham, David Poole and George Lowlett died in 2019, having been residents at The Elms, run by HC-One

Complaints including allegations of rape, sexual assault and neglect were made to police, but none of these ended in a conviction.

All five of its homes in the county have now closed.

The BBC has obtained minutes of a council meeting from July 2023 under the Freedom of Information Act, which detailed allegations of an assault by a carer at The Gables said to have restrained a resident and "then placed a wet paper towel into mouth to prevent from spitting" three months earlier.

While police found not enough evidence for a conviction, the home's manager believed "something happened".

The Gables shut down late in 2023

But with regards to the "wider picture" the minutes stated, "when we reflect on the seriousness of the failings people did come to harm as a result and this is why there is a 12-month embargo in place".

It added: "The Gables always has been and still remains our biggest concern."

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated The Gables as "good" after an inspection in March 2023 and said "staff were caring and treated people with kindness and respect".

The CQC told the BBC: "When we rated The Gables care home good... we'd found significant improvements in their processes and didn't see ongoing concerns about safeguarding at that time."

But an email chain involving council staff included one that stated: "And yet CQC rated as good!! I know it's one incident [the paper towel incident] but it's one of many over a period of time."

Max Carter said she felt like she failed because no-one was ever convicted or held accountable

Asked about the time it took to stop sending residents to HC-One homes, the county council said: "HC-One evidenced improvements at their homes and we continued to monitor their quality, to ensure this was sustained."

The CQC said while the abuse of Mr Carter fell under the police's remit it sought assurance "around [HC-One's] use of agency staff providing this type of personal support to people living at the home".

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's Safeguarding Board said Mr Carter's care "fell well below the level which is acceptable for those most vulnerable members of our communities".

It said agencies had undertaken a review "to manage any future cases in a holistic fashion, with a focus on risk management and information sharing practices".

'Safety and wellbeing'

Cambridgeshire Police said "protecting vulnerable people is a force priority" and "actively promote multi-agency and holistic working practices at all levels".

A spokesperson for NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough said: "The safety and wellbeing of people in local care homes is very important to us.

"We work together with colleagues at the local authority and the CQC to take action regarding any concerns about providers."

HC-One has said it removed the agency staff involved in the abuse of Mr Carter "as soon as concerns were raised" and stopped using that company.

"More broadly, we have acknowledged the local management issues that affected our Cambridgeshire homes at the time, and which led to care that did not meet the standards expected of us nor that we expect of ourselves.

"We apologise to those who were affected by this."