Methodist Homes (MHA) Reviews 20

Do not move your parent/relative here.
We moved our mam to Pilgrims Court 2 years ago, we have just moved her to hopefully a better place.
When we 1st looked at Pilgrims Court it was so our mam wasn’t isolated & if she needed company she could sit in the communal areas but also had a safety net if needed..Also location was great for mam she was in walking distance of shops & a good bus route.
At the time Pilgrims Court provided care, she didn’t need care but thought if/when that time came it would be there as the plan was this was her last move.. This was removed a few months later, they must have known this was happening but didn’t tell us or residents until they had to.
( They even moved someone in on the day care was removed & didn’t tell them) The rent stayed the same, we were told mam would be better off, she was £2 a month better off, told by a manger “Well she is better off isn’t she?”
Then unnecessary rules started to come in, such as day managers on duty couldn’t help support residents they charged £5 to deliver a paper to a resident who had come out of hospital & couldn’t leave her flat.
There was dish washer in the lounge residents were stopped from using it China cups were replaced with plastic. Residents have an amenity’s fund & wanted to replace the freezer as it freezes up in the communal lounge as residents are expected to defrost it themselves, have been told by managers they don’t need a new one. (Even though residents have raised money)
A lot of staff left & bank staff started English isn’t their 1st language so there are boundaries especially when dealing with older generation, day staff contact each flat in the morning to ask if they’re ok, some staff don’t speak we were told this is cultural, they won’t speak until spoken to, my concerns are what if someone can’t answer what happens then?!
My mother was interrupted in the middle of the night by night staff coming into her room, they said they’d come to the wrong flat it was a mistake. I discussed with the manger the following day & was told there had been nothing handed over & would get back to me, still waiting.
They are dismissive to concerns & not interested.
When mam put her notice into the manager the reply was “oh no not another one leaving” Not asked the reasons why she was leaving.
There was an advert a few months ago that Pilgrims Court was up for sale, we questioned this & were told it was an administrative error. I believe what they want is for people to move then say it’s not viable as a business, as it seems an expensive error.
The permanent staff who have stayed are lovely & try their best to support resident within the constraints of their contact. I’m thankful to John & I think it’s Pauline for the kindness they showed to our mam.
The building is tired & dated, the lounge is a miss match of furniture some not suitable for older people to get out.
Over the last few months a lot of residents have moved out to go to competitors retirement complex’s.
Mha should be looking at what their competitors are doing & how they are getting it right but Pilgrims Court are getting it so wrong.

I was working as a maintenance man at maidment court for 3 and a half weeks and left as was shocked with the issues.
One of my main issues was in regards to fire safety I would check the fire alarms on a weekly basis and I reported that most of the fire doors don't close when the alarm goes off. Many others don't have smoke seals and are missing parts.
One issue is that the company is currently being sold so my guess is that they don't want to pay for the safety to be bought up to the legal standard.
This is very dangerous for the elderly residents who wouldn't be protected in the case of a fire.

I bought up issues relating to paperwork being forged. I would do the water checks and multiple showers would be spraying and leaking huge amounts of water. Non were recorded and many elderly residents told me that this was the first time checks had been made (I was the one doing the checks) . They don't use an online system and rely on paper so it's very easy for them to pretend that they have been doing site checks.

The management belittles her staff members and will demand they do things not in the job description ie fire safety checks.
I also felt victimised as a Christian other staff told me the office would mock my beliefs when I'm not around. The strange thing is they are supposed to be a Christian company. Many of the residents are Christian and the office staff would be rude to them and not give them any choices in regards to care and life decision. "It's our way or it won't be done"

All in all it was an awful experience working for this corrupt company. I hope that cqc can do an inspection to help the residents have a better quality of life

1. MHA is a charity but there is a serious problem with its accounting. A relative has been sent a bill for services that date to over 3 years ago …and it is a LARGE amount.
You cannot demand payment for errors that are 3 years old.
Will be referring to The Charities Commission
2. Again further problem with statements and accounting in September 2025.Letters not sent out to family members notifying increase in service charges.
They are leeching money from elderly vulnerable folk

Our problem resolved

Call for a cook job in mha Poole they invited me for an interview the same day as soon as I arrived I have been told sorry the position is gone what an unprofessional management very very disappointed.

On the surface Montpellier Manor is a very grand looking setting both inside and out with plush furnishings and fittings. The caretaker, activities organiser and a handful of staff are quite pleasant but the majority of staff completely blank visitors who may be walking to and from guests’ rooms. I was able to visit my family member, close the door and be in the room for a couple of hours without a member of staff checking in. The corridor on entry and exit rarely had a member of staff in sight so anyone really could be wandering around, I found this to be quite unsafe given the vulnerability of residents. It’s not very secure, door codes are passed around, it might well not be a legitimate visitor being allowed entry because another visitor leaving has given the code. One day my friend had a very private meeting happening and a member of staff very rudely barged through the door, asking the visitors to identify themselves. It was none of their business, yes, ask my family member if all was ok, but not to ask the visitors, clearly of an official capacity to identify themselves, this was just being plain nosey. My family member did not enjoy the food at all, said it was of little quantity and lost three stone in weight whilst at Montpellier. The cleaning of my family member’s room left much to be desired until family complained, after that it was cleaned more regularly. Staff do not pass on messages, my family member missed three medical appointments because staff did not pass on the message. Once a district nurse called to say would it be ok not to visit and was told that was fine, my family member wouldn’t mind and could wait another week.Actually my family member did mind and it was not the call of a staff member to make without firstly consulting the resident. On occasion the staff on duty didn’t even pack a resident off to hospital with bare essentials such as toiletries, night clothes and spectacles. There are agency staff at night whose command of the English language is very poor indeed, this concerns me because my family member couldn’t understand a word they said and vice versa. One day a family member had to call up about a serious medical matter and a senior carer answered, male, and the only word he said was “yes” and his name when asked what it was. My concerns are how safe are the residents if a senior carer cannot even conduct a telephone conservation about a medical matter ? Some staff hand out tablets from their palm to palm, why not hand them out from a pot to the palm, far more hygienic. There is clearly a clique culture between staff, and having visited a few times a week it became clear that staff not in the clique were the most approachable and friendly towards both residents and their family. It just didn’t give me a good feeling and I have visited many care homes in the Middlesbrough area over the years that have felt like home as I’ve walked through the door, not here I’m afraid. My advice to anyone reading this who is looking for a care home would be to do your homework, read reviews, look at the qcc and maybe just start off with a couple of weeks respite to get the feel of the place.

I have now worked for mha in sheffield for nearly 6 years. As a domestic/kitchen assistant I can honestly said there's not a day when I haven't wanted to go to work.
I like everything about my jobs / my work colleagues/ my boss and the residents everyday is a different day meeting different people from all ethnics .

Working for MHA and their “compliance” visits makes me want to k*** myself. Horrible company with no real values, doesn’t care for their staff.

This care home is extremely unprofessional, underhand, unethical and unscrupulous and should be avoided. They failed to provide basic care to a elderly and vulnerable adult at a cost of £1300 per week. We had 18 months of extremely poor basic care, theft, coercive behaviour and provided no communication or support to help assist our family during their progressing terminal condition in fact they excluded us completely. The senior management team refused to listen, take ownership and act appropriately which resulted in the harsh removal of a loved one from their care. When the home manager was informed of our decision it was challenged (MHA do not want to lose a self funding resident at all costs) they further denied there were any issues and were unaware of our complaint. On leaving they further refused to hand over 2 weeks worth of time critical medication which is required 4 times per day and ended up causing further safeguarding issues. After contacting the GP they were suitably informed to hand the medication over and as a result was taken almost 3 hours late causing further harm and distress. The home seemed to think they acted appropriately with this medication and this disgraceful behaviour only reiterates that the decision of removal to a more appropriate care home to avoid further safeguarding concerns.

Awful corrupt company from Head Office down to Home Managers. They breach staffs data protection rights, discuss staffs private information in hand overs, very personal and private information, when raised with head office they cover their managers saying they never said that, when the only possible way my data could have been breached was if management leaked said information. They financially abuse staff, withholding payslips, paying less hours that contracted! They really are the lowest of the low and I would AVOID any relative of mine ever going in to such a cold hearted corrupt organisation. What is laughable is they call themselves a charity, charities are meant to help people and care for them, when in my experience ( 9 years experience) they cover discrepancies, are fine with racist behaviours, financially abuse staff and don’t follow their own policies regarding medication errors, reporting them, if they even bother doing that, 5 days later!!!! A resident could have died in that time! My helpful advice for families or staff thinking of joining MHA would be avoid at all costs!

This home, is very selective, once a resident develops age related issues such as: mobility, assistance with eating, bed ridden due to weakness or recovering from an illness etc, your too much for them. If your hospitalised don't expect them to accept you back. I thought that's what care homes do? Care when it's needed, how wrong I was.

Diabolical experience for my great uncle. Staff didn’t know what they were doing (bar about three staff members) and the manager was shocking. Complained and things got better for about a week and then went down hill again. Once staff knew I had complained they started doing tit for tat. I was also advised from the manager that I could be refused to see my great uncle if I didn’t follow the rules. The rules that were never laid out to me?! They have no idea about dignity. There idea of care is shove them in a room until they die.

Mha queens court bottisham
In all my years in care I have never ever worked in such a toxic environment as Mha queens court . The manager has no interest in her residents and leaves the running of the home to her senior staff who are in there 20 s
If you don’t smoke you won’t fit in
Bullying is rife as long as the rooms are filled nothing else matters
Would never recommend this company or there care homes to anyone be it staff or residents
If you value your mental health well being and self worth this is not the place to be

Don't Care Homes more like. Money for nothing.

One of the worst organisation and money making companies I have ever come across. In my view, just pure evil.
I was stopped from visiting an elderly friend, who I had been friends with for 20 years. He had walked down the corridor to meet me and was stopped and forced to sit down by the Manager of MHA Aldersgate, Nuneaton. He had bruises on on his hands and arms. That was the last time I saw him. He sadly passed away. The Manager at the MHA Aldersgate, spat in my face, said she didn't care and called the police to have me removed when all I was doing was visiting a friend in an 'Independent'.
Formal complaint made to one of the directors. This was sent recorded delivery. Complaint made to the Manager. This was sent recorded delivery. Both complaints ignored.

MHA Montpellier Care Home Middlesbrough is one of the most luxury homes I’ve visited with high reviews from carehome.co.uk at 9.8 however only good reviews are accepted by this company with the managers approval.

It was the worst experience my elderly relative could have expected,from neglect abuse & a total lack of care, the management & trustees show a lack of insight into the care and in my case cover up & avoid what has clearly happened. The MHAs own investigation into Montpellier Manor identified failings from the manager & her clique from leaving the home short staffed, failing to log accidents/incidents to totally missing medicine rounds, one senior carer was left to take accountability for 84 residents all vulnerable elderly people who deserve better care, & many paying upto a thousand pound weekly for the service.
Do your research & visit your relative as often as possible as the CQC & carehome reviews can be misleading.

My mother has been a resident at the Claybourne Care Home of MHA. She had moved there having had a fall at home and suffering a fractured hip as a result. I soon became concerned about the care and treatment my mother was receiving at Claybourne and reported this to the CQC whose investigation extended to picking up the phone and telephoning Claybourne resulting in the inevitable whitewash. However last week I was sent an e mail by Claybourne telling me my 95 year old mother had an unwitnessed fall at Claybourne the day before and was then in Hospital having been diagnosed as suffering another fractured hip and was awaiting an operation. My mother has since had an operation. That is the extent of what I have heard from Claybourne and MHA i.e. one e mail and no explanation as to how their staff at Claybourne came to allow my mother to have an unwitnessed fall. Do not send your relative to this care home or any care home run by MHA.

I worked for maidment court poole for just over 2 years as a laundry assistant, I have worked in care for approximately 13 years, as a carer but thought I would try for a different role. Big mistake! I wouldn't let my dog live there to be honest let alone a relative. The majority of staff don't give a dam about the residents, policies are a joke, everything you see and here is a lie. You are asked to do jobs that you haven't been contracted to do, it works on the basis of if your face fits and you become a sheep you are okay.
Manager, well don't know where to start with her, she is ruled by her senior, who spends most of her time outside having a cigarette. You report concerns (whistleblowing) and your made out to be in the wrong. Nothing is done or recorded about incidents you have reported.
The majority of staff are bullies, especially the ones who are friend with the manager and senior staff, they can get away with all the bad practice that happens.Head office is just as bad, nothing is done, company is just a joke.
Not in a million years would i let any of my family live there.

This organisation runs care homes including Homewood Care Home in Leamington Spa. An elderly family member booked herself in for respite care earlier this summer after a spell in hospital.

Homewood Care Home charged her just over £1,000/week. That is a lot of money and people are entitled to expect a lot in return.

So what might you get for £1,000/week for respite stay?

Answer:
- very hot rooms with windows that can't be opened properly and no air conditioning during the very hot summer some of us have enjoyed but many older people have suffered
- a horrible hard small single bed; and
- bed sores.

The bed was so small my elderly relative could not turn on her side for fear of falling out so she was forced to lie in more or less the same position for the 2-3 weeks she stayed there.

When she returned home the District Nurse found she had developed a serious bed sore during her stay at Homewood. She has been in hospital with a bed sore ever since, caused almost certainly by Homewood's horrible small hard bed (she has never had a problem with bed sores before).

MHA's business model is clearly: charge as much as you can get away with and buy the cheapest smallest hardest beds you can find.

"Care" home? I don't think so."

Footnote
I tried to post this review on Homewood's review webpage. It was rejected. It seems Homewood only "cares" for positive reviews (check out the website for yourself - you'll see they only post favourable reviews...)