Southern Cross fears were raised 3 years ago

By Paul Sims for MailOnline
Updated: 03:24 EDT, 17 June 2011

Concerns over troubled care home group Southern Cross first surfaced more than three years ago, it was revealed yesterday.

Alarm bells: A secret dossier from 2008 laid bare the crisis.

A secret dossier drawn up by worried officials in 2008 laid bare the unfolding crisis, it is claimed.

It means that the catalogue of failings uncovered within the firm's homes stretches further back than first thought.

Originally, it was believed that fears were raised only last year after a review by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission.

But the dossier logs concerns which were expressed as far back as 2008. The worries include the level of medication given to elderly residents, staffing numbers, poor hygiene and the management of the firm's homes.

The dossier was compiled by officials at Gateshead Council in the North-East, where Southern Cross operates 106 of its homes. The discovery of the dossier prompted new calls for Health Secretary Andrew Lansley to launch a public inquiry.

The documents contained within the report reveal concerns about a senior management restructuring at one Southern Cross home, Armstrong House Care Home in Bensham, Gateshead.

The log states that an urgent meeting was held with a Care Quality Commission inspector in December 2009 in light of 'further regulatory concerns' - with two warning letters served in January last year.

Another home, Hadrian House in Blaydon, Gateshead, had new admissions suspended last June following worries about management and staffing, and the health, personal care and dignity of its elderly residents.

In another case, a whistleblower reported inappropriate moving techniques, lack of staff to meet residents' needs, and poor care and hygiene.

Last night, Nick Brown, Labour MP for Newcastle East, said: 'The more one learns about the affairs at Southern Cross, the more worrying it gets.'

The dossier emerged after Southern Cross and its landlords, its banks and government officials struck a last-minute deal to help the company stay afloat.

The firm - which is hovering on the brink of bankruptcy unable to pay its £230m a year rent bill - said the deal would secure continuity and quality of care to the 31,000 residents living in its 750 homes.

The company is axing 3,000 jobs - 7% of its workforce - plunging the future of thousands of vulnerable residents into uncertainty. Almost 400 nurses and 1,275 carers will be among those to go.

Private equity firm Blackstone, former owner of Southern Cross, stripped the firm of its capital, selling the homes and renting them back from other companies. This brought Blackstone a big profit when it sold the firm in 2007.

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, said he had written to Mr Lansley urging him to launch a public inquiry into the provision of care for the most vulnerable pensioners.

He claimed there were not enough staff at Southern Cross now and raised concerns over the impact of major job losses.

Ian Mearns, Labour MP for Gateshead, said: 'Given the track record of the organisation, how can residents and families expect to get quality of care from it?'

But a Southern Cross spokesman said: 'Our priority is, and remains, the provision of quality care to our residents. While every effort will be made to minimise the number of redundancies, we believe the changes we are proposing will improve care across all of our homes.

'Since the wider business development programme was instigated, care quality has continually improved.'

He said that 121 Care Quality Commission inspections between October and May 'identified that 96% of outcomes met required standards'.