There was a time when Social Services inspected their own Homes, a time before whistle blowing procedures, a time when complaints from relatives were trivialised. The absence of damming inspection reports, scandals and dismissals did not mean abuse was not going on just that it was too often undetected.
Every senior manager has their skeleton in the cupboard, the mistake they made in their early career which they hope will never catch up with them. And every so often something happens that reminds them that it could have all gone very bad. For me it was reading about a murder investigation in a hostel for old men. One I had management responsibility for even if it was only for a few months.
Where do elderly gentlemen of the road go when they are too old for sleeping rough? Your average old people’s home doesn’t want an elderly alcoholic who can be abusive and threatening to staff and residents, someone whose chaotic life style means they don’t respond well to communal living ,bath rotas and bingo nights. The first time they push past a frail resident knocking them over, take a swing at a member of staff for suggesting a change of clothes or are abusive to a visitor who declines to give them a “couple of bob for a pint” then the manager wants rid of them.
At one time most large local authorities had somewhere that would take these difficult old men. The authority I worked for had a place that was run more like a hostel than an old people’s home. It was a men only establishment for those too frail and vulnerable to survive on the road or in a homeless hostel but too socially unacceptable for an old people’s home.
The manager of the hostel was very popular within the department. He boasted no one was too difficult for him and his staff to manage and he had a reputation for never having refused to take anyone.
The hostel was near the city centre and on my patch. I was responsible for a number of large older persons homes in the area but not this specialist unit. I was asked to take over management responsibility on a temporary basis following the departure of the line manger and a recruitment freeze pending a management restructuring.
The hostel did not look like any of my other homes and was definately not homely. The manager explained that the Spartan feel was both a practical necessity and how the men preferred it. There were no carpets, no pictures and plastic mugs and plates. In the communal area there were plastic chairs arranged against the wall waiting room style and a battered, old, second hand settee with armchairs full of cigarette burns. “We throw the stuff out every six months because of the smell” the manager informed me. He had a reputation as a hard man but his staff were loyal and most had worked there for years. His confrontational style with the men was considered appropriate in view of their behaviour. Not everyone agreed and one new member of staff lasted only a couple of weeks saying he did not like the way staff spoke to residents but wasn’t any more specific. It was rumoured that the manager would intervene if there was an altercation between residents or a resident and a member of staff by grabbing the offender by the lapels and threatening to throw them down the stairs.
I did raise this with my manager and his advice was to make some unannounced visits rather than listen to rumours. So over the next few months I called in on a regular basis and always walked around the building speaking to whoever was about. I never witnessed anything untoward but the place had an unpleasant atmosphere. The manager always seemed to be there no matter what day or time I visited.
I didn’t rock the boat, despite my misgivings, after all I was only covering for a temporary period and the place had been operating like this with this guy in charge for years. Never the less 4 or 5 years later and by now I am an assistant director in another authority and I read in the local press of a murder investigation due to the death of a resident following a “fall” down stairs. I fully expect to get a visit from the police.
At first it was assumed that another resident may have pushed the victim but then the manager was arrested and the police statement referred to a series of suspicious deaths over a number of years.
I was never contacted by the police or my former employer. May be the period under investigation did not cover my time in charge. There were no more reports in the press so I assume nothing came of it but I did hear the manager had left and the hostel was now run by a housing association.
Blair McPherson is author of a number of articles and books on management in the public sector www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
