Bristol Care Home Abuse Closure

Care regulator,The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has applied for an emergency court order and closed Overnhill House, Downend, near Bristol. The care home for elderly people was shut because of concerns about the safety of residents following a period of monitoring.

Questions remain however about why there has so far been no police involvement given the nature of the concerns raised about what went on at the Overnhill home.

CSCI reported there had been complaints that one resident had been dragged across a room, that another had heavy bruising, concerns about issues about medication being administered and concerns about staffing levels .

All 10 people living at the Care Home were moved. The Owners, Danny Purgaus and Patricia Purgaus have not made any comment.

The home which has 14 beds was registered in 1992 and offered residential care for elderly people with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

A CSCI spokesperson said, "The decision to close a care home is never taken lightly and is usually the last resort after every effort has been made to get the owners to improve standards and comply with legal requirements. We know all too well the impact that closure can have on the people who live there, their families and their carers, as well as members of the staff."

Bristol City Council said the authority had responded to concerns about the welfare of the residents and had found new residential placements for them.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson confirmed that there has so far been no police involvement in the case.

The lack of police involvementy raises serious issues given the reports from CSCI that the complaints inluded the suggestion of at least one resident being dragged across the floor and the suggestion of heavy bruising on another.

Care Home residents are entitled not only to the protection afforded to them by a regulator such as CSCI - which appears to have acted firmly in this case. Care Home residents are also entitled to the protection afforded by the criminal law and it is clear that the police must investigate the possible abuse that may have taken place in this home.

Abuse of residents in care homes must be seen not only as a regulatory matter but also as a matter for possible criminal prosecution. Only when the State acts both to close such homes and to prosecute abusers will people in Care Homes feel truly protected.