A care home which served an eviction notice on a resident after just two months has been found at fault by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman.

A County Court judgement found the former resident (Mrs Y) of Care UK’s Amberley Lodge had been essentially served notice on 16 March 2023 just two months after they had moved in on 12 January 2023.

Care UK said the notice had been served because the relationship between the resident’s family and the home had broken down.

The Ombudsman investigation heard a confrontation broke out between a member of staff and the resident’s daughter on 15 March 2023 after she claimed to have taken a photograph of a carer asleep in the home. The carer denied he had been asleep.

The resident’s family was formally given 28 days’ notice of the eviction in a letter by the care home on 18 April 2023.

Mrs Y sadly died in May 2023, four weeks after moving out of Amberley Lodge.

In his decision, the Ombudsman said: “As Mrs Y had only been in the home for two months when notice was given, I would expect to see more evidence to show the relationship had irretrievably broken down as well as efforts to repair the relationship in order to maintain the placement. The failure to do this is fault.”

Care UK was asked to apologise to Mrs Y’s family, make a symbolic payment of £500 in recognition of distress caused by the eviction and to share the decision with all its care homes to remind them that eviction should be a last resort.

A spokesperson for Care UK said: “Care UK is dedicated to prioritising the needs of residents and delivering high-quality and compassionate care across our 155 homes.

“It is important that residents, their families and those responsible for delivering care are all aligned behind a consistent approach and, should we reach a point where anyone feels the care needs of an individual cannot be met, we will suggest an alternative home or provider. We don’t take this kind of decision lightly and would always discuss it with everyone involved.

“We are confident our team did everything they could to prioritise the resident’s care and worked hard to maintain a positive relationship with the family. This was a difficult experience for all involved. As always, we will be reviewing any lessons we can to learn from this experience. 

“Amberley Lodge has been rated as Outstanding by the CQC and a recent review from the regulator identified no concerns with the home.”