SOUTHERN CROSS CARE HOMES

Motion Text

That this House regrets the death of a 97 year-old woman after allegedly being left without heating in the recent cold spell at a residential home for the elderly run by the private company Southern Cross; notes that Southern Cross was fined £80,000 and ordered to pay £120,000 costs in January 2009, after an 82 year-old woman resident fell to her death at another Southern Cross home; further notes that there have been other prosecutions of Southern Cross on health and safety grounds and that because of poor standards of care some local authorities have suspended placing elderly people into the care of Southern Cross homes; believes that providing elderly citizens with high quality care that maintains a dignity of life should be a primary concern of any society; is extremely alarmed at these allegations of neglect; and urges the Government to take urgent action to launch an independent investigation into the standards of care in residential homes run by Southern Cross.