Home closed after man dies

7:23am Wednesday 7th November 2007

Conditions described as "hellish," were uncovered in a care home lambasted in a shocking report after the death of a resident.

It was one of three centres criticised in Brighton and Hove owned by the same man, Joginder Vig.

While five of his care homes have been found to be operating well, concerns have been raised about Miles Court - now closed - in Hereford Street, Brighton, Eaton Care Home, Eaton Gardens, Hove, and Sackville Nursing Home, Sackville Road, Hove.

The homes were run by a string of different companies.

A spokesman for the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) said: "We have serious concerns about the poor standards of care that have been provided at Miles Court and are considering what further action may be necessary.

"We also have concerns about the quality of care at both Sackville nursing home and Eaton Care and have insisted that substantial improvements need to be made without delay.

"We are considering what further action may be necessary."

But a spokeswoman for the care homes said the former registered manager at the Miles Court home, who no longer works for the company, was responsible for running the site, not the owners.

She added that the two other criticised sites had made significant improvements.

On May 26, Charles Hounslow, 84, a resident of Miles Court, died with bronchopneumonia and a broken hip.

Police have not ruled out criminal action and will be at the inquest on December 13.

All residents were removed by Brighton and Hove City Council this summer and an investigation launched by the Commission for Social Care Inspection.

People living at the home were found to be wearing each other's dirty clothes and incontinence pads, even if they did not need to.

The newly opened care home charged £645 per week and catered for 29 over-65s with dementia or mental illness.

The Kemp Town centre was found to be failing in all areas, with one visitor describing it as "quite hellish".

In a CSCI report from June, released to The Argus, a staff member was criticised for referring to one of the residents as "that one".

The lack of food options were criticised by the inspector but the chef said that his "order is always edited by head office and the quantities ordered are changed to smaller amounts".

The acting manager also complained that the budgets were tightly controlled.

Investigations also found that staff had started work before crucial protection of vulnerable adults and Criminal Record Bureau checks had been completed.

No evidence was found confirming that some staff could work in Britain.

A spokeswoman for Vigcare, which run Miles Court, said: "It was awful what happened. We did what we could but it was just too much in a really short time. We agreed that it was best to take the residents out."

Both the council and CSCI expressed concern about the quality of care at Sackville Nursing Home, Sackville Road, and social services said they were not placing new residents there at the moment.

Mr Vig lives in Dyke Road Avenue, Hove, where homes regularly fetch in excess of £1 million.