They vowed they would improve after damning investigations by health inspectors in 2013.

But more than a year on from the Examiner’s investigation into care homes for the elderly, many are still failing.

Reports from regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), show one Huddersfield care home in particular has failed to live up to its promises.

The Norman Hudson home at Lockwood was pulled up last year for a catalogue of failings.

At the time a spokesman for the home told The Examiner that it was “fully compliant” and was an example of “one of the best” homes.

But 12 months on and it has been subjected to enforcement action by the CQC following shocking levels of disregard for residents’ hygiene and dignity.

Enforcement action is only taken after repeated warnings about failures.

CQC ratings also reveal two other care homes featured in last year’s report – Croftlands at Kirkburton and Bell House at Meltham – have both deteriorated and been subjected to enforcement action in the past six months.

The managers of both homes have apologised for the poor care and say they have turned things around.

More than a dozen Huddersfield homes have failed some element of the inspection and could end up under enforcement action if they do not improve.

At Norman Hudson home, inspectors visited three times in June, the latter after they were tipped off about more concerns.

During the visit inspectors found a resident lying in bed fully clothed with their shoes “caked with dried faeces”.

Norman Hudson care home, Lockwood
Norman Hudson care home, Lockwood

The visiting inspector noted more human excrement on the floor and in the shared ensuite toilet and found it had not been cleaned up when they returned later in the day

An outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting had struck the home at the time of the inspection but inspectors found that four people suffering had not been given adequate fluids to help them overcome the illness.

Tropical temperatures of more than 30°C were recorded in the home more than two weeks after the inspector raised the issue with home bosses.

The inspector also witnessed a fight between residents, gentlemen walking around having to hold their ill-fitting trousers up and was told that residents were not adequately supported with their personal hygiene, which on one occasion caused them to be publicly shunned in a restaurant.

Further transgressions included; records showing a person being given double the prescribed dose of their medication and a lack of organisation that saw one person given breakfast three times, by three different members of staff.

At Bell House inspectors found some residents were being given “strip washes” rather than their preferred shower or bath.

Inspections found that people had underwear in their drawers which was very stained and did not belong to them.

In one person’s room underwear belonging to five different people was found.

Bell House Care Home, Wilshaw Road, Meltham.
Bell House Care Home, Wilshaw Road, Meltham.

Elderly residents were given children’s cups and some were wearing clothes soiled with food stains.

Bedrooms carpets were not clean and some smelled strongly of urine with furniture dirty and sticky to touch.

Staff said they had to bring in their own vacuum cleaner as the home one did not work.

Other issues raised included; lack of care plans, inappropriate handling of medication, no involvement of relatives in care plans, poor standards of cleaning and hygiene, problems with the availability of a cook, lack of training, poor maintenance of the home, and incomplete or inaccurate paperwork.

At Croftlands, the inspector said “people who used the service did not look well cared for.”

Examples given included two gentlemen who were unshaven, one who had soiled fingernails and three others who did not have any socks or stocking on.

A strong odour of urine was also noted which was still evident more than six hours later, despite the inspector mentioning it to staff.

Staff also admitted to the inspector that they did not have time to read residents’ care plans.

Croftlands Care Home, Turnshaws Road, Kirkburton.
Croftlands Care Home, Turnshaws Road, Kirkburton.

The Turnshaw Road based home also was not storing medicines safely, with some found in an office, by a person’s bed and in an unlocked filing cabinet.

The medicine trolley was left unlocked, while the medicines room on one floor was used by carers to store their coats and valuables.

A number of other shortcomings around medication administration and documentation were noted.

The CQC said it was unable to comment further on ongoing enforcement action.

What the care homes say

In last year’s investigation Jason Sykes, a director at Park Homes UK Ltd, which runs Norman Hudson Home, said residents and staff disagreed with the critical report.

Responding to the Examiner’s request to explain the recent enforcement action, he said: ”We are delighted at the improvements made at Norman Hudson.

“Subsequent to the CQC report we have been liaising with them on a weekly basis and looking forward to our next inspection which I am confident will demonstrate compliance with all of the outcomes.

“We are also pleased to mention that the latest visit by Kirklees Council found Norman Hudson to be compliant in all the areas they checked on the day of their inspection recently.

“I am sure your readers will be more interested in the current situation rather than outdated reporting from the past.“

Christine Evans, who has recently taken over as manager of Bell House following the damning report, said the home had been given a clean bill of health following an unannounced CQC visit last Friday.

She said: “Failings had occurred under the old management. These were dealt with and I can assure you under the new management team there has been new systems and structures and a full auditing process put in place which has resulted in a massive change and improvement in the standards at Bell House.

“The dignity and respect of the residents at Bell House is paramount.

“All care plans have been reviewed and updated, all are person centred ensuring all daily living needs are met.

“All residents have undergone a getting to know you as part of a life history check and also for their care plans.

“We have worked closely with Lloyds pharmacy and all senior staff have undergone training and are certificated in the safe handling of medicines.

“Families are involved with care planning and a newsletter is sent out monthly updating friends and families what is going on within the home. There was a family/residents meeting on October 21.

“A new domestic team has been recruited, the home is clean and under refurbishment as of September 1, on a rolling programme.

“There are two cooks employed by the home and both are qualified and trained up to date.

“All residents choices are taken into consideration and are offered the choice of bath or shower daily. We have also installed a new wet room with walk in shower.

“We have also appointed an activities coordinator and there are social activities each day with our residents as well as one to one personal sessions.”

James Creegan, Director of Care at Croft Carehomes Ltd, which runs Croftlands and four other homes in the North, expressed remorse over the poor standards at the home.

He said: “There is never any excuse for poor care.

“It is with deep sadness that on the day of the visit from the Care Quality Commission the quality of care at our care home fell well below the standard we have set ourselves and for this there is no excuse.

“We have spoken to the families of our residents to explain our situation at the time of the inspection and to assure them that we are working hard to put things back on track after what has been a difficult period for the home.

“The home has undergone a change of management structure and with the recruitment of registered nurses being incredibly difficult within the whole of the care sector, as well as the NHS, it had been difficult to attract quality nurses resulting in an over reliance on agency staff.

“This put significant pressure on the existing staff team which led to an inconsistent and poorly led service.

“The senior management of the company are working hard alongside the care home’s manager and her staff to put things right.

“The inspection was in April and we have been working in partnership with the Care Quality Commission and Kirklees Council to bring the care standards back up to the level and quality we all expect.

“The care home is now a much better place where staff are better supported, residents are well cared for and their families consulted about how they want care to be delivered. We would invite people to come and visit the care home anytime to see the improvements that have been made.

“We have recently had our follow up inspection during which the Care Quality Commission have noted major improvements with the processes in the home and the care that is being delivered.

“We believe that the hard work of all the team is paying off and that this horrible and difficult time is behind us and we can go forward providing the excellent care we are known for at Croftlands where residents and their families are central to our care provision.”