With all the excitement of the Olympics this week, I missed Undercover Boss on Monday - in which Pam Finnis, managing director of one of Britain's biggest care home firms, HC-One, (pictured above left) went undercover in some of the homes to investigate standards of care.

The programme is typical tear-jerky Undercover Boss fare, but it gives a good idea of just how much pressure staff are under; in one scene, one resident's alarm is going off, but staff are too busy with another resident to sort it out straight away. 

In another home, a member of staff explains that his basic wage is £6.08 an hour - more than bin men get paid. He tells Finnis he wasn't able to pay his phone bill that month. She is obviously deeply affected, but almost immediately points out that, because low pay is so widespread across the sector, she can't promise HC-One will increase salaries for its care staff.

It's a sad reminder of the state the social care profession is in, struggling to retain committed staff because providers can't (or in some cases won't) pay them a living wage.