Evicted
In old age, your home is your castle, safe as houses as the saying goes. Or so it should be. However, there are more and more instances where people are being “Evicted” from care homes!
I am not wanting to be negative, but it is important for readers to know what can and does happen. People are being evicted from care homes!
A case came to my attention last week and this was the straw that broke the camels back. Caron is on the case! I have applied to CQC with a Freedom of Information request asking to know how many people have been evicted from care in recent years.
When I was a Personal Assistant to older people in the community, one of my ladies was unwell with a diabetic hypo. She was accused of inappropriate behaviour and whilst she was in hospital, she was told she couldn’t return to the care home she had been living in. She then “lived” in hospital for 6 months at huge cost to the NHS and taxpayer until eventually, I managed to get her re-housed into a bungalow by asking her MP for help.
The very worrying situation is that this case was far from isolated.
Family members fear making a complaint or challenging situations, concerned that their loved one could be asked to leave. One lady whose Mum was diabetic and being put to bed at 4pm dared to voice her concern in a closed Facebook group. She didn’t even mention the name of the care home, yet a carer recognised to senario and daughter and complained to the owner of the home. Mum was duly served 30 days notice!
The daughter apologised and begged that Mum be allowed to stay but to no avail. 30 days are ticking by and the daughter is now frantically looking for somewhere else to care for Mum who has dementia. Its cruel and heartless, I hear of people who refer to themselves as “damaged” after such situations. The sheer emotional stress and lack of empathy is astounding.
Care homes need to accept that if something isn’t right they are open to questions and criticsm. In a closed shop situation poor care will only be burried, putting the safety of our elderly in jeopardy.
If you are worried about care standards, report your concerns to CQC, the Care Quality Commission. If nothing is done, come to me. I can help escalate your complaint and often do get seen to achieve something when family members fail. I won’t tolerate people living in fear, this is a free country and we all have human rights. It’s time they were exercised, and care home challenged more.
