Kent County Council has been forced to apologise after a watchdog found carers put a late mother at risk of harm by "failing to meet her needs".

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – which deals with complaints against care providers – found domiciliary carers from Expertise Homecare (Ashford) “showed scant regard for hygiene” by hanging up dirty tea towels.

The woman in care’s son, identified only as Mr X, alleged misconduct by her carers, including that they “regularly hurt” her, and “once came close to overdosing her with one of her medications".

The Ombudsman found “there were other occasions when care workers left unclean bedding on Mrs Y’s bed".

The woman in question’s son, identified only as Mr X, complained to KCC about poor care and hygiene practices, carers not wearing masks, and visiting too late in the evenings.

According to the Ombudsman, the woman being cared for, identified as Mrs Y, told the care provider she was happy with the quality of her care, but her son disputes that claim.

The Ombudsman’s report also told of problems caused by the “unwillingness of care workers to visit her home".

'Expertise Homecare (Ashford) has reviewed procedures, practices and training...'

Expertise Homecare (Ashford) claimed to KCC that Mr X had knocked over and sworn at a carer while rushing to assist his mother, and that he took pictures of carers without their consent.

KCC told Mr X to mind his body language and tone of voice, and “suggested taking a step back” to allow carers to better do their job.

After a few days in hospital, Mrs Y had palliative care at home, where she died on December 3 2021.

Mr X alleged that workers removing their face masks led to his mother catching pneumonia, from which she died, but the Ombudsman says there is not enough evidence to claim that, as Mrs Y had tested negative for Covid-19.

The Ombudsman concluded: “As well as being put at risk of harm, Mrs Y will have been caused avoidable distress by the problems with her care. Sadly, it is no longer possible to remedy the injustice to Mrs Y as she has died.”

In a statement, KCC said: "KCC wrote to Mr X offering its sincere apologies for the level of care provided to his late mother by Expertise Homecare (Ashford), acknowledging that the care lacked consistency in terms of the quality of care provided.

“KCC has complied with the Ombudsman’s recommendations in full and we have had confirmation that the investigator is satisfied with the council’s response.

“Following the report, Expertise Homecare (Ashford) has reviewed procedures, practices and training for all its carers. Staff have also been reminded of the importance of wearing face masks at all times.”