Care home bosses banned for losing residents money

Care home bosses banned after losing £60,000 of their residents' savings Again I read with shock and horror last week after reading that 2 care home bosses were banned from being Directors after the savings of their residents (nearly £60,000) was all lost when their nursing home went out of business. It appears that the 2 Directors were appointed 'corporate trustees' of the finances of a number of residents in their care who either had Dementia or similar conditions. The 2 Directors of the Care Home apparently failed in ring-fencing and protecting their residents money. Instead the money was used for 'working capital' to meet their costs of running their Care Home.

The care home in question has since been sold by administrators and is now run by new owners. Given such a terrible experience, and if it is thought that a criminal offence has been committed, The Insolvency Service can and has the power to refer such cases to either the police, Serious Fraud Office or Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. After the failure of Southern Cross, the Government promised to legislate on social care in order to help prevent similar Care Home operators taking the same kind of risks. As it is quite clear, that such risks can threaten the solvency of such businesses. The structure of these companies is in some cases so complicated with many of them based offshore it makes it much harder and difficult for local councils to see what is actually going on. And this still leaves the local authorities having to suffer a cut in funding and having to turn to the private sector to run the Care Homes they need. Apparently there are approx. 400,000 disabled and elderly people who live in long-term residential care within the UK, but only 1 in 10 are now in Council or NHS operated institutions.