Barchester Healthcare has apologised and agreed to pay £500 after a daughter complained about the care of her mother at Fountains Care Home in Solihull.

The complaint to the Ombudsman by a ‘Mrs C’ concerned two respite stays made by her mother (Mrs D), who has since passed away, in August and October 2021.

Mrs C complained the care home lost her mother’s clothing; did not properly support her with personal care and continence; did not use personal toiletries; dressed her in other people’s clothing; did not provide sufficient nutrition; left soiled items in her room and drawers; and posted pictures of Mrs D in her nightclothes on social media without permission.

Barchester accepted fault for Mrs D’s care and agreed to take a number of actions, including: reviewing procedures on nutrition recording and assessment; reminding staff of the importance of using people’s own toiletries; ensuring residents are wearing their own clothes and introducing a tagging system to ensure clothing is not lost; introduce refresher training on posting pictures; and remind care staff about completing a continence plan for residents.

A Barchester spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the findings of the Ombudsman and we have acted upon the recommendations set out. On review of the complaint the Ombudsman agreed with the course of action that we had taken to remedy the distress caused. We respect the privacy of the individuals involved and as such cannot comment further on the specifics of this case, but we would like to reassure everyone of our commitment to provide the highest quality of care to our residents.”