Six people have been arrested under charges of neglect and mistreatment of residents at Hillcroft Nursing Home in Slyne-with-Hest, Lancaster. The two men and four women, aged between 26-59, were arrested earlier this week in connection with offences committed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Mental Health Act 1983. The offences include neglect, ill-treatment and physical abuse.
The news comes following a five month investigation into the home, which was sparked after police were alerted to a number of complaints were made about the standard of treatment being provided to the home’s elderly residents.
Lancashire County Council had originally received the complaints, with the police visiting the home in May 2012 and the investigation commencing thereafter. The North Lancashire Teaching Primary Care Trust, the Lancashire Constabulary and the Care Quality Commission have all been involved in the investigations.
There is a challenging behaviour unit at the home, which involves caring for adults with severe cases of Alzheimer’s. The majority of the alleged incidents of neglect and substandard treatment are said to be concerned with this area of the care home.
Allegations were first made about Hillcroft Nursing Home in December 2010, with the most recent being in February 2012. The allegations are especially serious in that they involve very elderly and vulnerable residents. Chief Superintendent Richard Bayly of the Lancashire Constabulary has highlighted the complicated nature of the case and recently stated that the main priority was the safety of those concerned. Specialist detectives are now involved in the case.
Elder abuse is an extremely serious matter and understandably, relatives can be very upset and want to take some sort of redress against those responsible. Here at Farleys, we have a team of specialist solicitors working in this area who regularly help the victims of abuse (and their relatives) to make a claim for compensation.
If you or an elderly member of your family have suffered abuse at the hands of another individual, or whilst resident in a care home, please do not hesitate to contact us for free initial advice on how to go about making an elderly abuse compensation claim.