Some of the country’s worst care homes are owned by companies that have made a total profit of £113m despite some of the vulnerable people they are supposed to look after being neglected, it can be revealed.

An investigation by the Guardian has found that companies owning homes that care for elderly people with dementia, disabled people and those with learning difficulties – and have been rated “inadequate”, the lowest possible rating by the Care Quality Commission – are turning over a healthy profit.

The company accounts do not state whether specific failing care homes make a profit, but critics called on the firms to use their wider income to rectify the issues raised by the CQC reports before taking profits that often amounted to millions.

An analysis by the Guardian of 220 homes rated inadequate by recent inspection reports in England showed that at least 44 – many of which will receive government funding to care for residents – were owned by companies making millions in pre-tax profits.

The firms’ total pre-tax profits for the year amount to £113m, according to their most recently available accounts filed with Companies House.

The figure is likely to be even higher but dozens of the homes are owned by small companies which are not required to publish their profits publicly.

CQC inspection reports from some of the homes rated as inadequate record appalling standards of care, including:

Elderly residents soiling themselves after being left because there were too few staff.

Staff using “inappropriate and disproportionate use of physical restraint” on residents with autism.

Patients being left waiting for long periods for under-pressure care workers to attend after ringing their call bells.

Carers failing to treat elderly residents with dignity and respect, with patients’ underwear being left exposed and faeces left smeared on a bedrail cushion.

Residents being placed at risk of abuse by other patients, with one being seriously harmed after an attack, and staff failing to safely manage medicines.

Barbara Keeley, the shadow minister for social care, said: “This investigation has exposed the appalling standards of care being provided by some of the largest providers of outsourced residential care which has left large numbers of vulnerable people in need of care suffering terrible indignity and neglect.

“It is simply unacceptable that both taxpayers and self-funders are collectively paying millions for the worst standards of care while the shareholders and directors of care home companies pocket enormous profits.”

Eileen Chubb, the founder of Compassion in Care, a charity which campaigns on behalf of whistleblowers and for better levels of care, said: “We have seen first hand the appalling consequences of poor care.

“We have seen company after company making millions whilst on the frontline vulnerable people are left without the basics to sustain life. Care staff are paid a pittance and asked to do the impossible with too few staff every day.”

Mulberry Manor, a care home for elderly patients in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is owned by Minster Care Management, which made a pre-tax profit of £41.6m in 2017. The company paid out dividends worth £44.2min the same year.

On its website, the company says it provides “an excellent standard of care 24 hours a day”.

However, inspectors placed Mulberry Manor in special measures after finding that people were put at risk because medicines were not safely managed, patients were at risk from dehydration and malnutrition, and staff failed to uphold residents’ dignity and treat them with respect.

Inspectors noted: “One person was observed to be in their bedroom, lying in the bed without covers and with their clothing pulled up so that their underwear was exposed.

“Another person was in their room, again with exposed underwear. We observed what appeared to be faeces smeared on the bedrail cushion at the side of the bed. Again, staff walked past but took no steps to address this situation.”

A spokesman for Minster Care Group said Mulberry Manor made a loss and a new management team had been installed to “address the shortcomings”.

“We have not profited from any inadequate rating – whenever a home is deemed inadequate it is extremely challenging to make profit as local authorities and private customers are less likely to use it, and it requires considerably more management resources to bring it back up to standard,” the spokesman said.

He said Minister Care Management underwent a restructuring in May last year to repay bank debt, and property assets were sold.

“An exceptional profit before tax of £41.6m included £14.6m of gains from property disposals and £31.5m of dividends from subsidiaries which had in turn disposed of their property assets.”

Chelmunds Court, in Birmingham, and Elizabeth House, in Essex, are owned by Runwood Homes, which made a pre-tax profit of £16.9m in 2017. Directors were paid £4.4m, with the highest-paid receiving £2.22m. Dividends of £5.1m were paid.

At Chelmunds Court, inspectors found that patients were not protected from abuse by fellow residents, saying they were told that one resident had been seriously harmed by another. “During our visit we found the provider had failed to mitigate the risk,” a report noted.

Elizabeth House, which cares for elderly patients including those with dementia, did not have enough staff on duty to keep people safe, inspectors said, adding that elderly patients were not treated with dignity and respect.

The inspectors noted: “Others told us they had used their call bell to summon staff assistance as they required their comfort needs to be met. However, staff did not always respond in a timely manner and because of this there were occasions when they soiled themselves.”

Gavin O’Hare-Connolly, the chief operating officer of Runwood Homes, said: “We recognise the difficult period noted by two of our services and took immediate and robust action to address any shortfall.

“As an organisation we have an overall good CQC rating and have a number of services rated outstanding. We invest significantly across all of our services, staff and environments to provide quality care as standard.”

Meadbank care home, in Battersea, south London, is owned by Bupa Care Homes (ANS), which made £8.8m in pre-tax profits in 2017.

Inspectors at the home found there were too few staff to meet patients’ needs and in a report noted: “When we pressed the emergency call bell because a person had fallen, it was not responded to and we waited 20 minutes for staff to pass the person’s room and give help,” adding: “One person had rung their bell 20 times and each time it was immediately turned off.”

Ashley Lodge care home, in Hampshire, is owned by Bupa Care Homes (CFChomes) which made a pre-tax profit of £7.5m in 2017. The CQC found rooms at the home were “dirty and unkempt” and that the home was not safe because there were not enough staff.

According to the report, residents did not always receive their prescribed medicines and the staff administering them were interrupted and distracted, increasing the risk of errors.

Rebecca Pearson, operations director for Bupa care services, said 80% of the firm’s 135 care homes were rated as good or outstanding.

“Two homes are rated inadequate and we immediately appointed dedicated quality teams to lead improvements in the homes. Ashley Lodge was previously rated good, however the departure of the home manager and other staff had a knock-on effect across the home.

“We’ve already seen significant improvements since a new manager joined and we’re confident the next rating will reflect this. Meadbank is going through a rating review as the CQC originally rated it requires improvement.”

Kingsmead Lodge, in Horsham, which cares for people with learning disabilities, is owned by SHC (Clemsfold) Group, which made a pre-tax profit of £4.5m in 2016.

The Laurels, also in Horsham, which cares for young adults with learning and physical disabilities, as well as autism, is owned by SHC (Rapkyns) Group, which made a profit of £3.6m in 2016. Inspectors found serious failings at both homes.

A statement from both owners said they delivered a “good level of service … across the vast majority of settings we operate”, adding: “The financial reality of operating care homes is vastly different to this characterisation. Both groups own and manage a diverse range of assets beyond the social care sector, which enables us to drive revenue to reinvest in our care homes.”

Andrea Sutcliffe, the chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said: “It is not acceptable for providers to neglect their responsibilities and fail to care properly for people they are paid to ‎support. Where CQC finds that this is happening we will take action to ensure services improve or are forced out of the market.”