THE report of an incident at a Harwell nursing home prompted serious thought (Oxford Mail, July 25).

Hopefully, such incidents are infrequent but occasional reports do tend to raise suspicions.

The period 1980-2000, was one of considerable improvement for care and nursing homes. Since 2,000 the number of elderly dependant people has grown quite considerably.

A caring philosophy, good management and proper staff recruitment and training are vital ingredients for well-run homes. Are these aspects of caring still universal?

It might prove rewarding for readers to consult the General Nursing Council website.

My own limited observations make me wonder if too many homes are run purely for maximum profit.

This is something that would seem barely credible after 13 years of Labour government, which claimed to care for the weakest in society, though, I suspect, cared more for asylum seekers and bankers.

Perhaps some investigative journalism to discover the situation in nursing homes might prove worthwhile. Regulatory bodies don’t always comprehend the situation and the public even less so. Yet, conceivably, any of us could end up in such places.

STEPHEN WARD, Tudor Close, Oxford