ZEST IS NOT BEST

Whilst we have always been in favour of individuals using covert cameras to film in care homes, we have never supported the use of surveillance cameras been placed in homes as this is a system open to misuse, our concerns have been proven right. Care Protect a new company which sells camera surveillance to those with a loved one in a care home recently announced their trial run in a Birmingham care home to be a great success.

Care Protect is owned by Phillip Scott, who was running Southern Cross at a time when we visited 60 Southern Cross homes and found appalling conditions, staffing levels were so low that staff had no hope of delivering the care needed. Many of our concerns were taken to Private Eye who helped us expose the appalling suffering of people such as Will Perrin who died in agony covered in appalling pressure sores. We were the only charity who spoke out against Southern Cross, The Charity Action on elder abuse was silent, but it is a matter of record how much Action On Elder Abuse received from Phillip Scott whilst he was running Southern Cross. Philip Scott left Southern Cross before it went down and started a new company Priory care homes, which was also a generous benefactor to Action on Elder Abuse. Within weeks of opening Priory care homes were embroiled in yet another scandal which again we exposed with the help of Private Eye, for example Charles Court care home in Hereford was opened by the Health minister Norman lamb, Phillip Scott and Gary Fitzgerald CEO of Action on Elder Abuse, the latter received another generous donation from Philip Scott. Weeks later the suffering in this home reached Southern Cross Levels and the opening event video mysteriously disappeared.

Now we have a situation where The company Care Protect proudly announces its trial camera run at a care home, Bramley Court In Birmingham which was a Former Southern Cross home and is now owned by Zest Care, this home has a long dire history of failures and is currently still not compliant. Zest Care Homes are run By Phillip Scott who when concerns are raised in future will be quick to say its use of so called independent cameras means there is no abuse here, as the incriminating video footage is most likely to disappear as quickly as the video footage at Charles Court.

Eileen Chubb