Relatives of a great-great-grandmother who died following an unwitnessed incident at a residential home are calling for improved standards in the care sector.

Olivia Martin suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and significant bruising while she was being cared for at Grange Care Home in Folkestone.

Following treatment at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, the 92-year-old died at another care home in Folkestone in December 2021.

Speaking after an inquest into her death, which was adjourned for further reports, Mrs Martin's granddaughter Carmella Martin expressed her concerns about issues affecting the care industry as a whole.

"Without safety monitoring in place, how will we ever protect our vulnerable people?

"We need a much more robust system of recruitment, and the way that carers are cared for themselves in this country.

"We know that they are overworked, underpaid, under-appreciated, under-trained. Everything just needs a complete overhaul for carers, and we need as a society to put some real value on what these people are doing, not just lip service."

"Unfortunately, Olivia's case is not unusual..."

Mrs Martin's family have started a Justice for Olivia campaign calling for safety monitoring, in the form of CCTV cameras in communal areas, to be made mandatory for care settings.

They believe this would help families establish what happened to loved ones in incidents not witnessed by staff and fellow residents.

Their campaign is being supported by pressure group Care Campaign for the Vulnerable (CCFTV), which was founded by Jayne Connery in 2011 after her mother was involved in an unwitnessed incident at her care home.

"Unfortunately, Olivia's case is not unusual given the stressful work conditions that carers are currently having to cope with," she said.

The inquest into Mrs Martin's death took place at County Hall in Maidstone on Monday. The coroner adjourned the hearing until a later date, as yet not decided.

"I don’t blame the carers in this instance," said granddaughter Carmella said.

"My grandmother's case highlights the problems which currently beset the care sector - staff shortages, poor pay, long shifts and a lack of recognition of the amazing work they do under pressure."