Family raises concerns over care standards at Droylsden care home

The family of a 94-year-old Droylsden woman have spoken out about what they describe as a deeply distressing experience inside a local care home, raising serious safeguarding and human rights concerns about the treatment of vulnerable residents.

Barbara Fitzgerald, a lifelong Droylsden resident, moved into Sunnyside Care Home, owned by HC-One, at the age of 91 following a short illness. She has lived on the same road in a house on Sunnyside Road for nearly 70 years and was well known in the community for her friendly nature and years of work at a local primary school.

Barbara, who is deaf, visually impaired, immobile and living with dementia, relied entirely on carers for her safety, comfort and dignity. Her daughter, Sandra Whittaker, says what should have been a place of protection instead became a source of constant worry, due to systemic failures.

“Mum went into care because she needed help,” Ms Whittaker told the Reporter. “She couldn’t advocate for herself anymore, so we trusted the system to do that for her.”

Over the three years Barbara lived at Sunnyside, her family documented numerous concerns which they say were repeatedly raised with management and safeguarding authorities. These included multiple unexplained injuries such as bruising, wounds and burns, some of which later became infected and required treatment from community nurses.

According to the family, many of the injuries were not reported by the care home and were only identified when relatives visited. In some cases, the family say they were told staff had not noticed the injuries, despite their severity. Safeguarding records later showed that only a small number of incidents had been formally reported by the home itself.

The family also raised concerns about Barbara’s hygiene and basic personal care. They describe finding Barbara in blood-stained clothing, soiled bedding, and with visibly dirty hands and nails. Photographs provided to safeguarding teams also showed concerns around the cleanliness of wheelchairs and bedroom equipment used by residents.

One of the most serious issues uncovered was that Barbara had been locked in her bedroom overnight for more than two years. Her family say they were completely unaware this was happening, and it was not written in her Depravation of Liberty Safeguarding. A legal framework that protects vulnerable adults in care homes or hospitals who lack the capacity to consent to their care, ensuring restrictions on their liberty and are lawful, necessary, proportionate and in the best interest. Management also told the family they were unaware that this was happening.

Ms Whittaker said: “Finding out my mum had been locked in her room every night without us knowing was devastating. She couldn’t call for help. She couldn’t understand what was happening. No one should ever be treated like that.”

Additional concerns raised by the family included inconsistent and inaccurate record keeping, missing medical information during a hospital transfer, and failures to document injuries and care accurately, even after safeguarding measures such as twice-daily body mapping were put in place.

In 2025, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the local authority carried out inspections at the home. The CQC subsequently rated Sunnyside as “Requires Improvement” in all areas.

The report noted that staff understood how to keep people safe and how to report concerns, and that people using the service and their relatives generally gave positive feedback about the kindness and respect shown by staff.

However, the inspection also identified shortcomings. Inspectors found that people were not always supported to be independent or engaged in meaningful activities, and that choice was not consistently offered. Some staff said they would benefit from further training, particularly in supporting people with dementia and those whose behaviour may be challenging.

Barbara has now been moved to a different care home. Her family say she is receiving improved care and that they finally feel confident she is being treated with dignity and respect.

The family stress that their aim is not to criticise individual carers, but to highlight wider issues within adult social care.

Ms Whittaker said: “We know many carers work under huge pressure and genuinely care, but when systems fail, it’s people like my mum who pay the price. Families shouldn’t have to fight for basic human rights.”

For her family, sharing Barbara’s story is about ensuring lessons are learned and the same thing doesn’t happen to someone else.

A spokesperson for the home said: “The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our highest priority, and we take feedback from residents and their families very seriously. Recognising Mrs Fitzgerald’s complex health conditions which resulted in a higher likelihood of unexplained bruising developing, our care teams worked closely with the local authority and clinicians to implement a specialised care plan that would identify and treat any new unexplained bruising. Colleagues at the home conducted a twice daily body-mapping procedure with all unexplained bruising being reported via appropriate safeguarding channels as soon as they were identified. All records relating to Mrs Fitzgerald’s care being present and updated throughout her time with us. We acknowledge that the home has faced a number of challenges identified by the CQC as well as practices that did not reflect the standards of care that is expected at the home which have since been rectified. We are working through a robust action plan to rectify these issues and look forward to welcoming the CQC back into the home so we can demonstrate the positive progress that has been made.”

The family are disappointed with the response from HC-One and don’t believe their comment reflects the lack of care, amount of injuries or the extent of what happened to their mother.