I didn’t see the Panorama programme last night, but in a way I didn’t have to. It is not the first time that there has been investigations into care homes, and the rampant abuse that goes on in some of them.

A friend of mine said that he had tears down his face as he watched, another said that their house mate works in the inspection unit of such places and was too depressed to watch it.

For me, one of the saddest aspects, obviously after the horrific abuse and humiliation of these vulnerable people, was the apathy of those in power to change this. The fact that the whistle blower contacted, his manager, the director, and the regulatory body and nothing was changed is outrageous. He was brave, to pursue it through to the end, but they weren’t.

They are like a nest of cowards. You have these knuckle dragging oafs at the bottom, meting out this violence on the defenceless. Maybe they were bullied at school, or maybe they were the bullies at school. Maybe they didn’t succeed at anything, which is why they take out their frustrations on those they can find who they deem beneath them. Only their victims aren’t beneath them. There is no one beneath them on the evolutionary ladder. To think that they may one day procreate and spread their brand of humanity saddens me greatly. Then you have the managers, and directors who turned a blind eye. As long as the balance sheet read £90 million, who cares about the rest? It is easy, in hindsight, to apologise unreservedly. Oh, I am really sorry, and I will try harder. For how long? How long do you try harder? Until the spot light is off you, and then you can default back to your previous ways.

Now I understand there are lots of good care homes out their. Places where trained nurses and workers provide amazing levels of care. I think about the help the hospice gave to my gran in her later days, but you fear that there are lots of places out there, which have Government grants and income, who aren’t beholden to anyone, and who don’t have that priority. The recent discussions about how tenders for care will be offered to ‘any qualified provider’ makes you fear for the NHS, and the level of care.

For all the finger pointing though, it makes you realise how as a society, we continue to brush problems under the carpet. The level of palliative care we provide as a society has dropped, and we would rather put people in homes and almost forget about them. I am not talking about the parents of those in the homes. Most of them are old, and can’t care for these individuals. They need this help, but when they are lied to by those purporting to help, then something has gone wrong. When their trust, and their loved ones are abused, then we, as a whole, need to look at how we care for the sick and the weak. Because, by the look of how we are performing, we are failing, badly.

- Anand