Surrey Downs Clinical Commissioning Group (SDCCG) has announced plans to set up its own group to make local care homes safer and better.

Merok Park Nursing Home, in Banstead, made headlines nationally at the end of last year after it was shut down by health and social care watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) just weeks before Christmas as residents were found to be at "significant risk of harm".

Another care home owned by the same man, Grantley Court Nursing Home in neighbouring Sutton, was shut just days later owing to "significant failings in safety and quality of care".

A SDCCG spokesman said this week’s announcement was not "in response to any particular safety concerns at present" but marked the publication of its quality improvement strategy, which was published last July covering 2014 to 2017.

Plans for the new group would involve local volunteers visiting the care homes in the area, seeing how they are run, befriending residents and then reporting their findings back to SDCCG.

The spokesman said the volunteers would not be visiting the care homes unannounced with checklists, and that instead of inspection, the focus of their role would be about "increasing levels of feedback from the community" on the area's care homes.

He added: "We are trying to encourage more community involvement in the care homes, which can become quite isolated places."

According to the strategy, setting up an independent group of volunteers to scrutinise care homes would reduce avoidable hospital admissions for conditions which can be managed at home and improve the experience for patients and relatives.

The strategy states: "All homes are required to be registered with the CQC and those who have residents funded by the NHS or social services receive a degree of scrutiny through service reviews and local intelligence.

"However, there needs to be a much greater systematic review of the quality and safety of the care provided by these independent providers to support improvements in that care and improve the experience for their residents."

Although ultimate responsibility for the quality of care received by patients rests with each provider and the CQC, a SDCCG spokesman said its new plans are one way in which it will meet its duty to secure continuous improvements in the care that it commissions for patients.

A SDCCG spokesman said: "At present, we review care home activity in response to reported incidents when patients may have been put at risk, and have acted quickly to ensure our patients’ safety when safeguarding issues have come to light.

"Feedback from communities should play an important role in the development of local health and care services, and can provide a valuable continuity of evidence regarding the quality of the services we commission.

"This feedback will complement the existing planned inspection regime and our wider programme of assurance."

Speaking about its quality improvement strategy, Eileen Clark, head of clinical quality, clinical governance and patient safety at SDCCG, added: "We've already made excellent progress in reducing waiting times for accessing psychological therapies, improving end-of-life care, and raising the standards of care and patient safety generally, but there is certainly more to do.

"This strategy sets out our commitment to commission for quality, by considering the latest clinical evidence alongside patients' feedback.

"We are starting a programme of walk-arounds at local providers, to take in patient and staff experiences at first hand, and are improving reporting."

To volunteer for the group, contact Usman Nawaz, SDCCG patient and public engagement manager, by calling 01737 201793 or emailing contactus.surreydownsccg@nhs.net.

To read SDCCG’s quality improvement strategy click here.

Do you work, live or have a relative in a care home in the area and have a story about your experience?

Contact Hardeep Matharu by calling 020 8722 6346 or emailing hmatharu@london.newsquest.co.uk.