A company providing care, costing Hillingdon Council £1.5 million a year, has been accused of leaving a blind, elderly woman to live in her own faeces and go without vital medication.

Diabetic Edith James, 87, from Uxbridge , has been left 'very depressed' after the 'lack of respect' shown to her by carers from Care Outlook, who provide home care to people living in Hillingdon borough.

Edith needs home care, receiving four visits a day, to make sure she gets her vital insulin medication, as well as to help her wash, make sure she eats and to help her with tasks such as laundry.

But care given to her by Care Outlook from February 2015 onwards 'lacks respect and responsibility' says her son, Ray, 63, who thinks about the problems it has brought upon the family “every single day”.

He told getwestlondon: “I was away and when I came back she had soiled herself.

“She had walked in it, it was all in her feet and it was all in the hallway, the toilet, down the front room in the carpet, and yet, the carer just ignored it.

“I was away for two days and there's no way it had just happened when I'd got there in a million years - it was too dry.

“To be honest the first thing that came in my head was, how many people's houses do they walk in and because they can't deal with it, just walk away? And how many people could have died from their neglect?

“They just walked away like they didn't see anything.

“The carers are supposed to give her her medication, but I've got quite a lot of dodgy boxes with tablets still in them.

“I've also found tablets on the floor as she hasn't taken them and they've fallen on the floor.”

Hilllingdon health watchdog 'appalled' by care

Mr James, took his concerns to the Uxbridge branch of Healthwatch Hillingdon, to help his mum who “just got on with it” as she's the sort of person who, “would make sure you were okay, not that you were worrying about her, because she's always looked after people”.

Since then, the case has been aired on Channel 4's Dispatches programme, which spent weeks going undercover and investigating the quality of Mrs James' care.

Graham Hawkes, chief executive of Healthwatch Hillingdon, said “Since the start of the new provider contracts in October 2014, Healthwatch Hillingdon have been working with the council by gathering the experiences of residents that receive home care services.

“We have recorded a number of issues similar to those highlighted by the Dispatches program and have reported these to the contracts team who monitor the services provided by local agencies.

“Over the last six months we have seen a marked decline in the number of complaints we have received and had hoped this was an indication that services were improving. Having watched the program, for Mrs James this is clearly not the case.”

“We are quite frankly appalled to see the footage of Mrs James’ care.”

The health watchdog raised an Adult Safeguarding Concern in June 2015.

Council urged to learn lessons from this case

Mr Hawkes continued: “We reported the exact same issues that were shown [on Channel 4] and are bitterly disappointed that nine months later they continue.

“We sincerely hope that the council and provider, Care Outlook, will act immediately to ensure that Mrs James’ care is improved immeasurably.

“We would also urge the council to look back at how raised concerns were addressed and the lessons that could be learnt from this case, to ensure residents are safeguarded and receive the quality of care they should expect.”

The Dispatches programme has helped the James family “big time” and Mr James said they have had an amazing response since.

He said: “When I had the TV people there, the carer came round whilst my mother was in bed, signed the book in front of us all that she was there for half an hour and she was there for 10 minutes!”

Hillingdon Council paid Care Outlook £1.5 million in 2015, whilst Mrs James was being treated in this way.

Tony Zaman, director of adult services at Hillingdon Council, said: “Hillingdon Council provides home care service for a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents through a small number of specialist companies.

“We expect only the highest standards of care from them and have a range of robust contract and safeguarding procedures in place to ensure these standards are maintained.

“In addition to these processes, when specific issues are raised we work with care providers and service users to ensure that these are resolved and where necessary, changes are made.

“Care Outlook and Hillingdon Council have been working closely with the James family since their concerns were initially raised, to ensure they are happy with all aspects of Mrs James’ care, and they have agreed to Care Outlook continuing to provide care going forward.”

Two care-givers suspended pending investigation

Care Outlook has responded to the concerns raised by Mr James by suspending two of Edith's previous care-givers pending further investigation.

A Care Outlook spokesperson said: “Care Outlook takes very seriously its responsibility for delivering reliable and compassionate care to our clients.

"Mrs James now has a designated care-giver with more time allocated to meet her specific requirements.

“Care Outlook trains its staff to adhere to high standards and we are sorry that these have not been met in the case of the James family.

“We have strengthened our procedures to ensure that no other family has similar experiences.

“In particular, local quality assurance reports are now shared with senior management on a weekly basis to ensure that clients with complex needs are identified and any problems resolved early.”