When Krys Dylewska's mother, Maria, developed worsening vascular dementia and could no longer be cared for by the family, she thought that a local nursing home would be the ideal solution. What followed was a five-year journey around five homes, all of which she says offered her mother poor standards of care.

Although the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has no duty to investigate individuals' complaints, Ms Dylewska, a medical writer with a background in science, persuaded its inspectors to see how her mother was being cared for in three of the homes.

They upheld a series of complaints. But Ms Dylewska said that the standard of care did not really improve as a result. In the end she felt that she was left with no option but to look after her mother at home. Mrs Dylewska died in May this year.

“My major regret is that I did not do that earlier,” Ms Dylewska said. “All I wanted was for my mother to be treated decently, given the right food because she did not eat meat, kept clean and dressed in her own clothes.

“I knew Mum deserved to be cared for better. But in the end I had nowhere to turn.”

Mrs Dylewska's journey began in April 2002, when, at 87, she moved into George Potter House in Battersea, South London.

A few months later, alerted by the family's concerns, inspectors visited the home and criticised the food, the dining facilities and standards of hygiene. They asked managers to improve all three, and the meals “as a matter of urgency”.

A spokeswoman for George Potter House said that an inspector's report two months before Mrs Dylewska made her complaint had described the food as “a wholesome, appealing, balanced diet” and found residents were complimentary about their meals. The home now has a two-star “good” rating from CSCI.

But Ms Dylewska felt nothing had been resolved and moved her mother to the Heritage Care Centre in Tooting in July 2003.

Here, CSCI inspectors and social services were called in. They reported that food was being served cold and there was a lack of suitable activities, and upheld a complaint that laxatives had been prescribed unnecessarily.

Social services asked staff to ensure that Mrs Dylewska drank much more and was washed and bathed more regularly. They said that poor record-keeping made it hard to know how often she was being taken for walks or bathed.

After Mrs Dylewska was urgently admitted to hospital in May 2004 with a urinary tract infection, her daughter decided to look for another home.

Heritage Care Centre was taken over by Southern Cross in February 2007. A spokesman for Life Style Care, the owner at the time, said: “Mrs Dylewska had severe dementia and staff were unable to persuade her to take adequate food and fluid, which led the deputy manager to seek her admission to hospital. In our experience it would not be unusual for a resident to have a urinary tract infection under these circumstances. The deputy manager was subsequently promoted to the position of home manager at The Heritage Care Centre, where she remains until this day. Under her leadership the care home became one of the country's first three-star homes in 2006 under CSCI's ratings, a rating which it still holds today.”

Ms Dylewska moved her mother to Ronald Gibson House, also in Tooting, in August 2004.

There, again, CSCI inspectors upheld complaints, including that she was being put to bed at 6pm each evening, fluids were not offered regularly and soiled clothes were not being changed.

Ron Staker, Brendoncare's chief executive, said: “She was a lovely lady and we enjoyed caring for her. She left Ronald Gibson House over two years ago, despite our best efforts, as a consequence of our being unable to meet the expectations of Mrs Dylewska's daughter.”

Ms Dylewska moved her mother to St George's Nursing Home in Westminster. An early assessment from social services found Mrs Dylewska was eating well and gaining weight.

Mrs Dylewska left after she was admitted to hospital after an accident which left her face badly bruised. Staff told Ms Dylewska that her mother had had a fall.

A spokeswoman for St George's said the incident had been fully investigated. Its most recent CSCI inspection in June gave the home a one-star “adequate” rating.

With the help of the charity Counsel and Care, Ms Dylewska met the Government's Director-General for Social Care, who has ordered an independent investigation into her mother's case with a view to improving complaints procedures.

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