The last three editions of your newspaper have carried articles criticising Queens Court Nursing Home, Buckhurst Hill in respect of failures identified by the Care Quality Commission. Clearly these must be taken seriously and I understand that the owners, Ranc Care Homes Ltd., are working diligently to resolve these failures.

My wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease over 10 years ago and is now in a very advanced stage of dementia. She is unable to stand or move her body in any way and requires hoisting when being transported from bed to chair. She is totally unable to communicate and has almost no understanding of verbal instructions. She has absolutely no memory of past events or family and, although she has some recognition of our daughters and me, she has no idea who we actually are.

I have visited her five or six days a week to feed her at lunchtime as this allows the staff to concentrate on other residents during this time. I have made over 800 visits to the home, totalling well over 1200 hours and consider that I have some knowledge of the care provided. In a home with some 90 elderly residents and a similar number of staff it is inevitable that criticism can be found from time to time.

However my wife has, in general. been very well attended by the dedicated staff who show compassion, humour, and respect both to Dorothy and me. My family is very happy that we originally selected Queens Court from the list of local homes available.

Bad news makes the headlines. I feel compelled, in fairness, to inform your readers that not all is bad at Queens Court!

Alan E Quaife, Carroll Hill, Loughton