STOCKTON’S longest serving councillor has sounded an impassioned plea for elderly folk to be treated properly as a probe into care home standards is launched. 

Fairfield independent Cllr Bill Woodhead, who has held office since 1973, shared worries families “had to use secret cameras” to uncover care home abuse at the latest adult social care and health scrutiny committee.

His cry came at the launch of review into standards at care homes for older people in Stockton – seeking to uncover why the borough’s CQC (Care Quality Commission) ratings are below both national and North-east averages. 

40% of care homes for older people in the borough had CQC a rating of “Requires Improvement” in January this year. 

Panellists heard things had improved at Stockton’s 31 homes since March 2018 – with a raft of safeguarding measures in place to stop abuse and flag up serious problems. 

But Cllr Woodhead had doubts. 

The veteran councillor said: “These assurances may have been given to the people who actually installed cameras. 

“Why should they have to store hidden cameras to pick up these cases of abuse?

“I think mistakes will be made – you can never give me the assurance that nothing will slip through the net.

“Everyone in this room has seen these cases which are shocking – they go in these places to be looked after.”

Leadership concerns

Just under £14m a year is spent by Stockton Council on care for residents.

Concerns about leadership at care homes were sounded by the committee in January after it repeatedly cropped up as a problem in CQC inspections. 

Health leaders set up a “well-led programme” in 2018 to drive up standards by holding training sessions with care home managers. 

Panel chairwoman Cllr Evaline Cunningham said abuse cases were very rare. 

She added: “We have systems in place to try and make sure these sorts of things don’t happen – but we can never ever give a guarantee something will not happen.”

Angela Connor, who oversees social workers on the front line in Stockton, told councillors abuse cases did happen – but explained there were plenty of safety measures in place. 

She said: “Some of them (abuse cases) are raised by families, some are raised by staff and some of them are raised by people in the home observing behaviour.

“None of have led to a serious adult review in Stockton – and some of that is down to the pro-active work we do by having people on the floor, and people putting their safeguarding concerns in. 

“We encourage care homes to send safeguarding concerns in and we’re probably more worried if we don’t get a care home putting any in.

“It’s part of the honesty of the culture – if people make a mistake, we expect them to put a concern in and let us know, then we will work with them.”

Councillors will visit care homes as part of the five month review which aims to offer recommendations to council leaders in February. 

Its launch comes after St Mark’s Care Home, on Hartburn Lane, was rated “inadequate” by CQC inspectors in June.

Jean Golightly, director of nursing at Tees Valley CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups), told the panel there was a very “integrated approach” to safeguarding in Stockton. 

She added: “We can never promise to capture everything, although do we strive to do that.

“You may have heard about “making safeguarding personal” – this is something we work very hard on so everybody is aware of their own personal and professional responsibilities. 

“It could be anyone from the milkman, to the person who runs the care centre, to family members – it’s about everybody being “eyes on” and understanding safeguarding.”