An unauthorised British-run care home in Spain's Costa Blanca has been exposed after an elderly UK woman was found 'on the verge of a coma' and surrounded by animal excrement.
The disturbing case in the village of La Manchica in the region of Murcia has uncovered the existence of an unlicensed care home which has allegedly been operating under the guise of a rural guest house, according to an investigation by Spanish news outlet El Diario.
On March 16, an unnamed 84-year-old British woman was reportedly rushed to hospital after she was found in a bedroom in Pension Hakuna Matata-Rural Guest House suffering from kidney failure and extreme dehydration.
Emergency services had found her in a filthy room in the remote farmhouse, which was alleged to be surrounded by animal excrement, urine and rubbish, while medical staff described her as being 'on the verge of a coma'.
The Briton was also emaciated and had multiple infected wounds.
The farmhouse is owned by a British couple who purchased the property along with a bar in 2018.
But according to local residents and social media records, the farmhouse has operated as an unauthorised care home under the name 'Casa Care'.
The care home, which has always lacked the required regional authorisation, according to information provided by the Department of Social Policy of the Region of Murcia, advertises itself as a 'senior citizen residence and assisted living' that offers a 'care service for you and your loved ones'.
An unauthorised British-run care home in Spain 's Costa Blanca has been exposed after an elderly UK woman was found 'on the verge of a coma'
One member of staff at the Fuente Alamo Emergency Room described the property as a very 'strange place' that lacks proper sanitation
Despite the owner's claims to Spanish media that the residence 'closed more than 10 years ago', Casa Care's Facebook profile - which has since been deleted - featured images posted throughout 2023 and 2024 of dozens of elderly people living at the farmhouse.
The page also advertised the home as a 'senior citizen residence' and assisted living' that offers 'care services for you and your loved ones'.
Meanwhile, the phone number listed under Casa Care's contact information was the same number available for booking a reservation at the Hakuna Matata bar.
Emergency workers are familiar with the farmhouse, having been called to the property many times over the years to treat elderly Brits.
One member of staff at the Fuente Alamo Emergency Room described the property as a very 'strange place' that lacks proper sanitation.
Other staff members claim to have seen animals inside the home.
One nurse, who chose not to be named, told El Diario: 'Every time we go and enter the house, the conditions are disgusting. Everything is filthy.
'They even have goats inside, dozens of cats and dogs'.
Emergency workers are familiar with the farmhouse, having been called to the property many times over the years to treat elderly Brits.
'We've been there many times in recent years to care for elderly foreigners. Every time they call us from there, we think: how tiresome, let's see what we'll find today.
'The elderly people who need our care are very neglected, but the owners tell us it's a rural inn. They tell us they're their guests'.
But suspicions were raised further after paramedics, who responded to calls of the ill elderly woman last month, asked the owners of the guesthouse if they knew anything about the patient's medical history.
They were surprised to see the owner take out a folder with all of the patient's personal information.
'What kind of hotel or bar has all that documentation? Her medical history, her prescriptions, her health documents?', an emergency worker told El Diario.
'That wasn't a rural house or a hostel or anything. It was a disgusting room, and inside we saw an elderly woman who was already missing a kidney, completely neglected, unable to even get an IV because of her dehydration. She was on the verge of a coma', the staff member added.
Neighbours in La Manchica have also long been suspicious of the way the farmhouse operates, describing it as a 'pretty strange place'.
The recent hospitalisation of one of its residents has highlighted the lack of action by authorities.
One nurse reportedly contacted the Guardia Civil following the incident last month, but police told her they could not act without a formal complaint.
Cartagena City Council's Social Services and local police carried out an inspection of the farmhouse in 2020, but El Diario reported that there is no record of how the procedure ended, as no further municipal intervention was requested.
MailOnline has reached out to the owners for comment.