Help us stop avoidable agony for our elderly loved ones and their families.

Sign our petition to protect your family today.

How would you feel if you had power of attorney over an elderly loved one, yet without your consent they were sent miles away from you?

Only to contract a disease that would lead to their death?

Alone. Away from you and their loved ones in their final days.

Meanwhile, you received ultimatum letters for £104,991.65 bill to cover care costs?

Trust me, I feel as disgusted as you do.

This is the unfortunate ending of Mr Raymond Nickson, who had lost his  wife fifteen years before on the last day of their holiday within hours  of their flight home. He has a son and daughter-in-law who have repeatedly done the right things - discussed his care, attended meetings and visited their Dad every day.  This is a sad avoidable story of pain that has plagued their family and they  believe many more.

Help us stop this now!

This bureaucracy must stop. 

Please support us by signing the petition, so no other people have to share our agony. Ever. Again.

Please sign the petition now.

My 90 year old father-In -law was discharged from hospital without his family’s CONSENT

HUMAN RIGHTS ACT Articles 2, 3,5 and 8 

Article 2 Public AUTHORITY 

Public authorities should also consider your right to life when making decisions that might put you in danger or that affect your life expectancy.

My FIL was assaulted 4 times in hospital by three different people. For a gentleman who needed two carers to mobilise he was a sitting duck for abuse and neglect. The local authority didn’t follow the MHA code of practice. They failed to keep him safe. Two of the assaults in hospital was by the same man who punched in the eye within 20 hours of admission into the unsuitable, unsafe out of area care setting. He was left with a head injury with a cut above and below his eye. The care facility didn’t call a doctor or an ambulance.

It was NOT an EMI registered care home. The care staff didn’t follow the covid 19 protocols. Dad should have been isolated in his room for 14 days.

 

Article 3 
No one should be subject to cruel and degrading treatment.

The family were told my Father-in-law was on 1-1 24/7 observational care. He was left for 16:5 hours and 3:5 hours without personal care. That mean two carers over two shifts didn’t meet my FIL personal care needs. My FIL was on a specialist diet plan. The hospital failed to follow it. In his first 15 days he lost 15k (33.1lbs)They either didn’t give him the correct diet or they didn’t feed him at all.

There we’re four other patients on the ward with the same initials. My FILs records confirms other patients with or without the same initials RN were included in his hospital records.

At the care facility they too didn’t follow his SALT plan. Again fed him the wrong diet or nothing at all. In five weeks he only had 1 shower how degrading is that.  The family have evidence that my FIL never received

1-1 support at anytime.

In hospital he was made to sleep on a mattress on his bedroom floor for 18 days. The mechanism of his bed had broken. No elderly vulnerable person should be expected to sleep on a floor.

Article 5

Everyone has a right to Liberty
My Father-in-law was made to wear a falls helmet in March 2020. He had slipped from his bed to a crash mat next to his bed in February 2020. The health authority didn’t discuss or seek consent from his family. When Dad was discharged and we saw him through a window he told us about the falls helmet. He was very distressed about it. We contacted the hospital ward and his named nurse told the family. The reports recorded just one fall or slip as indicated above. The others listed are for other patients.

. ‘It was hospital policy for people being transferred from hospital to a care home.’

We asked to see a copy of the policy. We never received the policy. My Father-in-law’s named nurse lied to the family. 

 

Article 8 Human Rights Act states you have...

‘A right to Family life 

We were  never allowed inside  the care home. We have had limited window contact with Dad. We knew that the out of area care home environment was unsuitable for Dad.

It was still under construction...

It was NOT  in Dad’s best interest

 It was too far away.  In Bolton which is for violent and aggressive Service Users with (Mental Health) Dad was  anxious and recently diagnosed with dementia. We now think this too was mixed with another patient too. Dad had no indication of dementia apart from his age!

We had lasting power of attorney and repeatedly stated this was not in Dad’s best interests. We did not give our CONSENT.

Delay  in discharge from hospital was requested from a solicitor who was completing  a 1st tier tribunal so he could investigate our continuing concerns This was denied by the local Health Authority... Why?

The family were  told Dad needs 1-1, 24 hour nursing care. All the documentation states he needed. 1-1 12 hours while  awake. The out of area  home did a review of Dad’s needs after just  two days and stated Dad only needed 1-1 support while awake. 
WE HAD BEEN MISLED by the health authority. ,Time and time again.WHY?

We were given a week to find him a care home we found three...

However,  The Health  Authority  personnel we believe  altered documents to double the price of the cost of his care needs m. To  be refused by the local councils funding panel.

The 3 homes we found prices  are £2,100, £2,479. 20 and £2,762 per week 12 hour 1-1 observations while awake. However, they tell us this is negotiable... The health authority haven’t had any discussions with us just two letters with ultimatums. The homes confirmed they do accept the local authorities care matrix of £640 per week. Considerably less then they were demanding from the family.

The cost of the care home in Bolton for 1-1 24 hours observational care is £2000 This didn’t seem right?

carer on minimum wage was more than £2,000 per week for 24 hour 1-1 care?

Why has the health authority repeatedly misled us?

No best interest meeting or assessment prior to moving Dad’s to Bolton. He had no connection with Bolton.

Nurses Needs Assessments, Ward observation sheets Service Users Progress Notes all indicate 1-1 while awake.

Dad was frail, he had lost 15 kilos (33.1lbs) in weight in his first fifteen days of admission to hospital.

Dad had been under this health authority for 15 year. 10 of those years in a care home a three hour round trip away. He was abused and neglected.

9 years without any care plan reviews, no care coordinator or social worker.

11 years without medication review

Dad was left for 33 hours in 2015 with a broken hip. Before an ambulance was called.

The hospital and NWAS  raised a safeguarding alerts and requested a best interest meeting as they felt Dad should not be  returned to a care setting that had neglected and abused him. He was returned to a place of danger.

CPA written without any contact with his family. It took our family 18 month to get him out of that place of danger...

We raised five safeguarding alerts with his care coordinator none were actioned.

However, when we learnt about the role of the CQC they did an inspection and they confirm our concerned. A hospital in our area raised a safeguarding alert too, with the local authority and that wasn’t actioned either...

CPA reports were altered prior to a CQC inspection of the health authority in 2019.

We have been bullied and intimidated by the health authorities personnel. We have been given ultimatums. To find alternative care. We did.

We have repeatedly ask for guidance and support. We have received none.

When I enquired I was told social worker were only for adults between 18 and 70 years old.  We now know this is untrue.

No Advocate ... We discovered three weeks after Dad was discharged from hospital that he had an advocate who visited him numerous times a total over eight hours contact with Dad  in hospital. However, they never contacted his family? Why not?

His care coordinator wrote a care plan in June that stated No Advocate? We have been misled Why?

The advocate service or hospital never told Dad’s family.  It is not on any of his hospital records the eight hours worth of visits. Why?

no best interest assessment was held? No assessment of the suitability, no assessment to establish whether my FIL had any connection to Bolton. He had no connection with Bolton. The care coordinator failed to carry out her mandatory responsibilities with the MHA code of practice.Why not?

We were unaware of the DOLS system deprivation of Liberty ... We have had a best interest assessment. They agree with the family this home is not in Dad’s best interest.

Given 2 days to decide whether we would give a top up of 

£104,991.65 

Or out of area placement 

we had  telephoned Dad’s care coordinator 11 times  On the 1/9/2020 . They are in a meeting, out of the building, lunch and so on. Every time we were assured they would respond they never did.

Between January  and August 2020 we sent them more than twenty five emails about our concerns. 
Asking for support and guidance.

No response.

We received a nurses need assessment for another patient. It took a further seven weeks for the countless mistakes to be corrected.

No assessment of the care home in Bolton... no reason and no explanation.

Care coordinator commissioned the permanent placement. Although they never visited to assess its suitability.

We appreciate we are in the midst of a pandemic. However, we have repeatedly identify why this home was not in Dad’s best interest.

Dad was living on a building site is not suitable for anyone who suffers with anxiety and agitation who had wrongly recently been diagnosed with vascular dementia.

We didn’t agree with the vast amount of top up demanded.

So he was placed in Bolton... Dad has 117 aftercare. We now know he should have been fully funded between health and social care. Why were we asked for £104,991.65 per year?

The staff at the home have not followed the COVID 19 protocols. We now know the staff on his hospital ward failed to follow NHS covid 19 protocols. Nine other patients died on my FIL ward. It was only a twenty bed unit. That 45% of patients on his ward died due to the teams lack of infection control. Five staff members were isolating too.

We have seen staff with masks under their chins, staff with no masks or aprons or gloves.

Dad’s care plans stated Dad needed to avoid loud noise and high stimulus environments environment... The builders started work at 07:15 am every day. It was psychology torture for my FIL 

There is a tub of used cigarette butts nearby. So we assume the builders/ carers had their cigarette breaks near Dad’s window...

We have seen carers having a cigarette break nearby too. 

It’s on the main Chorley New Road.  The taxi driver told us. It’s very much an industrial area... Is this really suitable for anyone with Dad’s condition. He was frightened and fearful. He begged us to save him. We were powerless. 

 Dad passed away on the 5/10/2020.

After a lifetimes struggling with mental health.
His treatment from our local health authority has been extremely poor.

In the last 15 years

First care home that CQC stated had broken numerous parts of the care act. He was failed by the health authority.

We raised 5 safeguarding alerts between November 2015 and May 2016 they were all ignored.
A hospital and NWAS raised a safeguarding alert January 2015 IGNORED

safeguarding raised 13/8/2020 IGNORED 
He was failed, again and  again.
7 safeguarding alerts ignored.
In 2006 Dad was  placed in a home 3 hour round trip on public transport and forgotten. 

A community team who didn’t care.
Dad was failed again and again.

Years 11- 14
Found peace and sanctuary in a local care home close to his family Heathside Residential Care gave Dad his life back...

He became engaged, socialised with everyone, came home numerous times, went out with the home and his family. He had fun...

Then he had a relapse in July 2019. It took fifteen contacts for the health authority to review Dad in January  2020. His lack of care was staggering and we need to stop this appalling failure in Dad’s memory. Please don’t let his death be in vain.

I started this petition "Crisis in Adult Care
Priority should not be COST over CARE!"

In Early August 2020. We are hoping you could help by adding your name to the petition. We are not asking for a donation. All we would like is for you to sign it, then share it as far and wide as you can.

Adult social care in the UK, is broken hopefully, not beyond repair. I am passionate about making life’s better for the vulnerable and the elderly. We all have a role to play in this.

I became a public Governor for the health authority. To help my family understand the system. I understand how broken it is.

We had Lasting Power of Attorney for Dad. In law we are the decision makers.

My goal is to reach 100,000 signatures 

He was a 90 years old and before Covid 19 we saw him most days. It is a 5 hour round trip on public transport with a 43 conservative walk. The authority offered a taxi budget for 5 days a week. 

A  90 minute  round trip in a taxi was that appropriate for a 90 year old gentlemen to see his son and daughter-in-law. There was no provision for his siblings or his elderly nephews and their families. Who are all non-drivers too.

Can you begin to imagine what it is like for an elderly gentlemen with poor vision. When an unknown person approaches him. Anyone would put their hands up to protect themselves. Dad was very anxious, scared and needed his family near by.

Dad had lost a further five pounds  between 2/9/2020 and 21/9/2020 at this unsuitable care home.

For a gentlemen who was already slender to loose 38lbs  since January was very worrying. Dad was starved to death.

We feel the health authority took away the opportunity for Dad to have a family life and destroyed  his hope for the future.

Thank you for reading this.
Most importantly please sign and share... Crisis in Adult Care is at crisis.

We are hoping that this petition. Will be part of the governments review of Adult Social Care and funding streams. To makes things better for everyone... Your family matters. We need to make this better for them.

Thank-You for all our family.