Care home forced to repay £14k to disabled man (From Times Series)

Care home forced to repay £14k to disabled man

8:44am Thursday 13th March 2008 in

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A Barnet care home has been forced to pay back £14,000 it took from a disabled resident after invoicing him for expenses with no receipts.

Matlock Close Care Home, in Matlock Close, was investigated by independent auditors Enpeyz after the father of 40-year-old resident Christos Kypriotis, discovered discrepancies in his son's bank statements.

Over a six-year period, rental payments were erratic and sometimes up to two-and-a-half times the agreed amount.

There was also a series of large "unidentified expenses" listed in the son's bank records, such as £1,381 in July 2002 and £1,200 in March 2004, which could not be accounted for.

In total, the auditors discovered £13,903.60 in "unsupported expenditure", citing "lack of adequate financial records" as the main reason for its findings.

The results of the investigation, which covered 2000 to 2006, was the culmination of six years' effort by 72-year-old Nicholas Kypriotis, who first raised concerns with Adepta, the parent company of the care home, in 2001.

When Adepta cleared themselves of any wrongdoing in an internal investigation two years ago, he turned to Barnet Council, which recommended Enpeyz as independent auditors.

Mr Kypriotis, whose son suffers from epilepsy and has been a resident at the care home since it opened in May 1995, said the ordeal has left him tired and depressed.

"Having a son in that condition, you're not interested in money. We just wanted to see our son somewhere secure. That's why my ex-wife and I entrusted his account to them. We completely trusted them.

"This has been a huge pressure on me over the past six years. Now I'm tired and depressed. It's been a long struggle."

Mr Kypriotis's investigation prompted Barnet Council, which has a duty of care towards people it places in private homes, to commission a further independent investigation into the remaining six Matlock Close residents' finances. This is underway and is due to be concluded shortly.

Adepta denied any misconduct with any of its residents' finances and said it would not discuss individual cases.

It said the repayment was not an admission of wrongdoing.

A spokesman added: "Adepta has fully complied with all aspects of the complaint and met all the recommendations that came out of this process, including the repayment of some monies as a gesture of goodwill. Adepta takes the responsibility for supporting vulnerable people very seriously."

Along with the financial complaints, Mr Kypriotis has also lodged a number of complaints about the quality of care provided by Matlock Close over the past few years, which he claims have not been addressed by the home.

In its most recent Government inspection, in December 2007, the Matlock Close home was judged to be "poor", scoring the lowest grade in five out of eight criteria. These criteria included "personnel and healthcare support", "complaints and protection" and "conduct and management".

The report, by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, stated: "The people who use this service continue to live in a home that has not been as diligently well managed, either internally or externally, as it should be.

"The delays by the registered provider in taking the urgent actions necessary in response to serious concerns is something that causes ongoing concern to the commission."

The council said it would not be referring any more of its residents to Matlock Close until the financial investigations are complete and standards are improved.

A spokesman said: "We are monitoring extremely closely how Adepta brings standards up to what they should be and have been providing training for Adepta staff at the home. We expect Adepta to make the necessary changes quickly."

However, Mr Kypriotis refused to "run away" by removing his son from the home. "It is not for me to take my son away from this service, it is for this service to put its house in order," he said. "I'm not going to run away. I want justice for everyone."