Here is some further history:
This goes back several years. Lilian was in hospital for several weeks before being moved to a care home. She had lived with us for 6 years but eventually it got too much. The NHS said she would have to be put in a suitable care home. We informed the Council that the establishment they were proposing WAS NOT SUITABLE and we were promised by the care team manager that she would only be there a matter of days, two weeks at the most, this did not happen. We also made the Council aware we believed the NHS was responsible for costs and we were seeking to prove this, we also made the Council aware that we believed they should not have been involved on the first place.
They placed her in a dreadful place and after 2 months when she was still there we refused to pay anymore fees, it took a further 18 months where she was assaulted, where valuable jewellery was stolen or lost, where her clothes were ruined, where she was left to sit in urine and worse, where she lived in fear before we got her out of there. - But the fees kept accruing.
I specifically asked Moderator note: name of NHS authority removed ???? NHS to act as a central point in these negotiations as we did not want to have to deal with a County Council who have harassed, bullied and threatened, who placed a seriously ill woman in a in an establishment that (was not) suitable, contrary to the request of the NHS.
This was after we had a meeting with this Council last year (after much threats and bullying) and we gave them £10000 partly as we believed we would get it back when all of this was over. This was after we found out at that meeting they ahd a County Court Judgement aginst my mother-in-law
“ A Council that we have successfully fought to have a CCJ overturned, when it was discovered that they had surreptitiously served a Court Summons on a dementia sufferer in the actual, sub-standard establishment they placed her in. When we, her family knew nothing about it"
Additionally they have been kept in contact with everything that has been happening in the ongoing correspondence with ?????? NHS Trust and they are aware of the current state of proceedings, so to then go against everything that is happening with something as low as this is quite unbelievable.
This is an excerpt from a letter from ?????? NHS Trust that a retrospective assessment will be carried out and we expect it to be proven that these charges should have been paid for by the NHS. ?????? County Council was informed of this decision on the 19th February 2010.
“As soon as we are able, we will review your mother’s care needs during the period 31 July 2006 until her death………
As mentioned in our previous letter, we undertake retrospective reviews in the order in which they are received. Having made enquiries, I am very sorry to tell you that there are 44 cases waiting to be dealt with ahead of yours. The reviews are very time-consuming to complete and involve obtaining a great deal of information on a person’s needs, e.g. information from the GP, hospital and social care. A Needs Portrayal with supporting references and evidence is produced which confirms the person’s eligibility. A copy of the Needs Portrayal is sent for comment to the family prior to being presented at the Local Retrospective Review Panel. I very much regret that, in view of the large volume of cases waiting, it is unlikely that we will be able to review your mother’s case until next year, although we are working hard to try to improve this situation.”
I think its fair to say the situation is strained however we are trying to reach a conclusion. Additionaly I received another letter from ?????? NHS on the 19th March 2010
The County Council recognises that you are not happy with the involvement that Adult Services have had with this matter and further that, as you state in your letter of 23 February 2010, you do not believe they should have been involved in the first place
The County Council would welcome the opportunity to respond to your concerns directly as identified in the letter sent to you by ??????? ?????? date 18 January 2010 and repeated once more in italics below.
“Our understanding is that you would want the Council to be satisfied that the decisions ands actions taken regarding your mother were both appropriate and lawful. In practical terms the review would need to consider the following:
o Why the Council assessed that they (not the NHS) were the responsible authority to fund services to meet your mother’s needs at the time of her discharge from ?? ?????? hospital.
o The circumstances of your mother’s discharge from ?? ??????? hospital to ?????? ????? care home, specifically how and why those particular arrangements were made.
o The basis upon which the Council made financial charges to yur mother as a contribution towards the support provided.
o The issue you have raised about a ‘promise’ that she would only be in the care home for a matter of weeks. (In
If you would like to take this aspect forward, please contact ??????? ?????? by telephone on ????? ??????,
Name and address of
The county council…
The Council will not take any formal action unless it hears from you.”
(Q) How can the NHS say the Council will not take any action in March and then in April the Council do this??
I think its fair to say that relations have broken down with the Council, especially after we found out they served papers on my mother-in-law and we had to fight to have a CCJ against her overturned. However this latest situation is a disgrace from a Council who have continually threatened and bullied. The only respite we’ve had has only come since we put forward a possible case against ?????? NHS and ?????? County Council!
They have NO RIGHT to try to amend anything, any debt, should there be any debt at the end of this, any debt will have to be claimed from my mother-in-laws estate. I cannot believe this latest abuse of the system can be legally right, but there is one thing I do know and that is this most certainly NOT morally right.
I have been hospitalised twice recently and my wife is a nervous wreck through all of this.