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Owner of UK care home group paid himself £21m despite safety concerns

The Guardian reports that Gordon Sanders, a multimillionaire dementia home boss, paid himself at least £21m in five years despite inspectors finding multiple breaches of staffing, safety and leadership rules, with residents left in dirty incontinence pads and staff accused of rough handling.

Sanders owns Runwood Homes, the UK’s sixth largest for-profit care home group, which charges residents more than £1,000 a week, with bills often covered by the taxpayer. The majority of 60 homes registered as offering dementia care were ranked “good” by Care Quality Commission inspectors over the past five years. But almost one in three were rated “requires improvement”.

Problems reported by inspectors include not enough care workers, meaning residents unable to get to the toilet, stuck in bed, lacking activities, feeling “trapped” and “at risk of harm”. Several breached Care Act regulations including for a lack of staff to look after people safely and protecting people from abuse.

Full story in The Guardian, 17 January 2023

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