A care home boss says he has lost £2m and been forced to make dozens of people redundant because of overly tough care standards.
Surinder Khurana says Care Quality Commission (CQC) officials did not care that he was ill in hospital when they ordered him to close Oxford Grange last May.
Mr Khurana had suffered a stroke but said CQC staff piled the pressure on him to fix issues at the home and his other two facilities, Sunnyside at Oxford Road and West House on Quarry Road.
He has now closed all three homes forcing about 80 residents to move and leaving a similar amount of staff out of work.
On Monday a report into West House rated it ‘Inadequate’ – the lowest CQC standard.
Mr Khurana, who also runs homes in Lincolnshire, said he did not believe the stricter CQC regime was necessary.
“The primary reason I’ve closed the homes is the CQC were piling pressure on me to improve them.The timescale they were giving me I couldn’t do – I’ve suffered three strokes the past six months.
“I was unconscious in hospital when they closed Oxford Grange in May but they said, ‘it’s not our problem’.
“I couldn’t take the pressure any more – we had a two-and-a-half-hour meeting – they were giving me hell. They threw everything at me.
“I’ve said if this carries on I will have another stroke, the stress was just too much.The speed they wanted things doing, I felt I couldn’t take it any more.
“I have lost £2m, but it’s not about the money.
“I’m selling them as assets but at a fraction of what they’re worth.”
Mr Khurana, who has run the homes for eight years, said residents and their families had been dismayed by the poor rating his homes were given.
And he said he didn’t believe the new standards were necessary.
“My homes didn’t have any problems until the new tougher inspections came in last year,” he said.
“I’ve had no complaints from any staff.
“When I closed Oxford Grange family members came in crying, saying why are you doing this?
“Most of the residents have been found homes elsewhere but they’re not happy about it.
“Some have had to move quite a long way to somewhere they don’t know.”
The CQC revoked the licence of Oxford Grange in June. Inspectors said people’s health and safety was at risk because of a shortage of suitable staff. They were also concerned that residents were not protected from abuse or harm.
The home was also not deemed clean enough or adequately maintained while staff training was rated insufficient.
A CQC report of West House at Quarry Road provides similar concerns and said there was evidence of residents with dementia being locked in rooms.
The report on Sunny Side has not yet been published.
Debbie Westhead, CQC Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care in the North said: “As a regulator our priority is to make sure that people using services receive safe, high-quality and compassionate care and where we find this is not happening, we take action to protect people from risk. Northfields Care Homes Limited had the right to appeal CQC’s action but chose not to do so.
“CQC inspected West House Care Home and Sunnyside Care Home in June 2015. A number of concerns were identified and fed back to the provider to advise where they must take action to improve standards.
“Where possible we will seek to work with providers to help them make improvements, however, in this case the provider took the decision to close both homes.
“We have been in close liaison with Kirklees Council who have overseen the safe relocation of all residents to alternative placements.”
