"We must stop the threat of eviction from care homes"

06/11/2007

In recent years thousands of disabled, frail or vulnerable elderly people have been evicted from their care homes. Many have been reported as dying within days - clearly due to the trauma and upheaval of the closure of ‘their care home’. I am therefore appealing to Mature Times' readers to help me in my campaign to get the government to introduce legislation that will protect and afford legal redress to all those evicted from local authority, private or charity owned UK care homes - especially the elderly and those with disabilities. I believe it is a basic human right.

As the law stands, people in these homes live with the possible threat of eviction constantly hanging over them - even if they have sold their own homes to pay for their own care. From my own experience, when my late mother in law became  profoundly disabled in 2002, we had no option but seek a nursing home placement for her. Yet she had only been in a private Wrexham nursing home for two months when she received a letter from the owners informing her that the home was no longer viable and was closing down.

 

Yet the same care home is now advertised as ‘luxury apartments’.

Take the recent case against St. Helens Council in London. The Council had refused to pay for the increases asked for by a number of care homes with which it had contracted. The care homes responded by saying that they could not afford to stay open and so the residents would have to move. In a previous case, a court of appeal had said that homes which contracted with local authorities to provide for individuals were not public authorities - and so the Human Rights Act did not apply to them.

Their recourse? The residents had to challenge the council itself.

So, somewhat reluctantly, the High Court entertained a claim that the council had breached the human rights of vulnerable residents by failing to pay the extra amounts. It was agreed that moving some elderly and frail residents brought increased mortality risks which should be avoided if possible. The council’s refusal to pay up, it was argued, was in breach of the positive right to protect life covered by the European Convention on Human Rights. But the court held that the council had carried out all reasonable steps to limit adverse effects on residents, and could not be forced to pay the increased fees by court action. The residents would have to move, but with careful monitoring of the impact upon them.

This case reveals the problems which are raised when local authorities are encouraged to purchase services from the private sector rather than make provision themselves. Some councils have gone so far as to divest themselves completely of care homes, preferring to rely on the private sector. But this also comes at a price if residents cannot enforce their human rights against privately run care homes - or the council which has purchased their placement.

There have been examples of council-run homes which have been forced to stay open to "protect residents right to respect for their home". But private care homes, so long as they do not act in breach of contract, can evict residents with impunity.

The thousands of disabled, frail or vulnerable elderly people who have died in recent years as a result of eviction from care homes is reaching a crisis. Indeed, the situation is now so appalling that Her Majesty’s Coroners are ordering police investigations into these deaths. Mr. Nicholas Rheinberg, the Cheshire Coroner, ordered one after seven residents died shortly after being evicted from the Delamere private care home in St Helens, Merseyside in 2003.

In a letter to me, Mr. Rheinberg said: “I agree wholeheartedly with you that there should be protective legislation for the elderly. It does seem to me strange that whereas for those at the beginning of life there are adequate legal protections, such protections do not exist for the elderly who may be equally vulnerable”.

As one who has always strongly, perhaps naively, believed that there should be ‘no politics in disability’ I am respectfully and urgently asking politicians to put aside their political differences and organise a debate to introduce legislation that will guarantee all disabled, frail and vulnerable elderly people ‘continuity of quality care’ and legal security of tenure in a care home of their choice in the twilight of their lives.

On 24th February 2004 I presented No. 10 Downing Street with a petition containing 26,500 signatures, including those of the Professional Footballers Association and many Premier and Football League Players to try and change the legislation.

 

Their response? "We do not feel that there is any need to introduce extra legislation in this area”.

They are wrong - and I ask you to help me put this injustice right.

 
Ken Mack, Carer and Independent National Voluntary Campaigner for People with Disabilities, 19 Crathie Place, Rhosddu, WREXHAM, North Wales, LL11 2HB.