Abbey Grange Sheffield: Care home 'failed' woman with dementia according to her daughters

A Sheffield care home has been accused of neglecting patients, as daughters of 77-year-old Rita share photos of her injuries following repeated falls.

Jeanette Clayton and Lisa Burkinshaw said their mother often had soiled clothes, was not showered for weeks, and was left in an uncomfortable position at Abbey Grange Care and Nursing Home in Page Hall.

Jeanette told Sky News: "I sat down in chairs, many a time, soaked with urine. Every time we went, my mum was wet through, we were having to ask them to change her."

She says she recalls Rita once not being showered for three weeks.

The women shared photos with the press which show their mum slumped over in a chair, or with facial bruises.

Lisa added: "I once walked in and there were three carers, with their coats on, standing there watching my mum folded in half in a chair. I said, 'has anybody thought to bring a pillow in for her?' "And we understand the elderly are more vulnerable to fall, but it was just the fact they were nearly all unwitnessed."

Jeanette and Lisa's allegations of neglect relate to Rita's time at the home from 2021 until mid-2022, when they moved her to another care home.

It has been reported that there is no mandatory dementia training for staff working in care homes, despite 900,000 people in the UK living with the condition.

Abbey Grange was rated as "good" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in its last full routine inspection in 2018, in all categories.

In July 2022 it carried out a partial targeted inspection in response to a "specific concern we had about the management of incidents, staffing and the eating and drinking support people received", and the rating remained the same.

In a statement to Sky, the CQC said: "We take all concerns about health and social care services extremely seriously and use people's lived experiences to focus our inspection activity and continually monitor the care services provide.

"Where we do find care that does not meet national standards, we have a range of enforcement powers at our disposal to ensure services provide people with the good safe care they deserve."

Jeanette's and Lisa's mother Rita moved from Abbey Grange to a new home in 2022, where she celebrated her 77th birthday last year.