Nurse Reveals Care Home Scandal After 25 Years on the Inside

For 25 years, Grace Ncube worked in a respected care home in Greater Manchester. She began her journey as a newly qualified nurse, passionate about caring for the elderly and supporting families during some of life’s most difficult moments. Over the years, she built lasting bonds with patients and their loved ones, eventually becoming the senior nurse responsible for helping manage the home.

But after two decades of loyalty, this experienced nurse reveals a care home scandal that she says “shook me to my core.”

A Beautiful Job With a Dark Reality

“I loved my job,” Grace says. “It was the most rewarding role I could have imagined. I met incredible families and looked after people with real dignity and care. But I can’t ignore what I witnessed—because it wasn’t fair.”

The home she worked in served both self-funders and those funded by the local authority. Everyone received the same care, lived in the same rooms, and had the same meals. But behind the scenes, Grace began to notice the financial arrangements didn’t add up.

For the 70% of residents funded by the local council, the home would send monthly invoices for around £900 payable by the council. But self-funding families—many of whom had been forced to sell their homes—were paying around £1,500 for exactly the same care.

“One day, it hit me,” she said. “These families weren’t just paying for their own care—they were subsidising everyone else.”

Nurse Reveals Care Home Scandal Hidden in Plain Sight

Grace didn’t expect to become involved in the financial side of care. But as part of her role, she began helping with administrative tasks, including overseeing invoices. That’s when she started spotting patterns that deeply concerned her.

“I couldn’t believe how many people had been made to sell their homes. I saw balances over £250,000 paid in full by families, while others—some clearly wealthy—had their care funded entirely by the local council.”

What shocked her most was discovering that some people had legally protected their homes—and never told a soul how they did it.

“It wasn’t until a friend of mine brought her dad into the home that I asked why his care was being covered by the council. I knew they were homeowners. That’s when I heard about Property Trusts.”

According to Grace, “I’d worked here nine years and no one ever told me there was a way to protect your home from being taken to pay for care. No training, no guidance. It was like a secret.”

The Estate Planning Advice No One Gives You

After doing her own research, Grace realised that estate planners—not high street solicitors—were the ones helping families legally exclude their property from the financial means test. These families avoided probate delays and managed to pass down their homes to children and grandchildren, while others lost everything.

She warns against relying on “bloodsucking probate solicitors who only show up to drop leaflets and business cards,” and instead urges families to get advice while they still can.

“I’ve seen families broken apart by this system. The worst part? It could have been avoided.”

Her final message is simple:

You can’t insure the car after the crash. You must get advice before a care assessment happens. I highly recommend speaking to an estate planner. It changed how I see everything.

If you’d like to understand how families are legally protecting their homes from care fees—and explore whether you can do the same—now is the time to speak with a specialist estate planner.

We’ve partnered with experienced estate planners who are offering free guidance to UK homeowners aged 60 and over, helping to raise awareness of the flaws in the current system.

These consultations can take place online, from the comfort of your own home. There’s no obligation—what you choose to do with the information is entirely up to you. But as Grace says, “It’s better to have the knowledge and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”