Elderly woman fears eviction in care row
Tuesday 27th October 2009, 10:42AM GMT.
An elderly Shropshire woman who needs constant nursing fears she will be “thrown onto the streets” because health bosses plan to cut her NHS-funded care.
Gwyneth Norton, 79, of Shawbury, has been receiving what is known as Continuing Health Care since being transferred from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to a nursing home in December 2007.
The health problems she suffers from include congested heart disease, hypertension, angina, chronic kidney disease, abdominal hernia, hiatus hernia and osteoarthritis.
Mrs Norton has also suffered three heart attacks, a collapsed lung and several blood clots in her lungs over the last two years.
She cannot be moved without a hoist, is doubly incontinent, has limited use of her right arm and hand, is blind in her left eye due to cataract and has an ongoing gynaecological problem.
But after being assessed by a team from the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust, her CHC funding, which runs in several hundred pounds, will be stopped on November 16.
A week ago the Shropshire Star revealed the family of an 82-year-old Shrewsbury woman was planning to appeal the loss of her CHC funding.
Beryl Knafele suffer- ed two strokes at the beginning of the year and is in a nursing home. She is doubly incontinent, has vascular dementia and also cannot move without the aid of a hoist.
Mrs Norton’s family also plan to appeal the decision.
Daughter Lucy Eccleston, of Shawbury, said: “My mo- ther is an extremely poorly woman. The uncertainty of her health care is causing her a great deal of distress.
“We are absolutely astounded and baffled by the decision. As far as she is concerned, she honestly believes she is going to be thrown onto the streets and nobody is going to look after her.”
Wendy Richardson, nurse manager for the continuing healthcare team at Shropshire County PCT said: “Where a patient or their family is unhappy with the PCT decision they have the right to request the PCT to review their decision or ask for an independent review of the case by West Midlands Strategic Health Authority.”
By Health Correspondent Dave Morris
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Tim, do you know all the facts? I don’t either but there are rules as to what get’s paid in these sorts of cases. I very much doubt she’ll be “thrown out on the streets” but why let the facts get in the way of a good story, eh?
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Thanks Shropshire Star! (note the sarcasm). As Richard says we need the facts. On what grounds did the team from the Shropshire County Primary Care Trust decide to stop her CHC funding? Are there any other people available to provide funding? Does she actually require any care at the moment? (I could go on) I can’t help but feel that these facts would be the most important aspects of the story!
Again, there are rules and, in the end, a line has to be drawn somewhere on ‘to fund or not to fund’.
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Richard, they have scared a sick old lady. That’s a story in itself. But as you say, why let the facts get in the way, huh?
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Open message to all Star readers:
Our family is in a similar position. Our hoped for moderate ‘inheritance’ has gone to mum’s care home and the proceeds of the sale of her house is soon to follow to the council. We shall be left with a few thousand pounds for funeral expenses, legal fees etc and the small change left over to be divided. This because Alzheimers is not classed as a disease and is therefor not deemed as eligible for funding. My mother worked hard all of her life for 50 years, paid her taxes when she was asked to, obeyed the law to the letter and raised 3 children as she was encouraged to. And this evil petty money-snatching ‘get-out’ clause is her/our reward. So my message is simple if not a little bitter. If you’re still young enough sign everything over to your children..today. If you have worked and saved money..spend it, spend it ALL and then, when ready, go to your local health centre refuse to move and throw youself onto the state {they haven’t introduced euthanasia…yet} to claw your tax back. And lastly…fill out any forms they send you with as much smirking enthusiasm and honesty as though they were House of Commons expense claims.
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Presumably the lady concerned gave her consent to have all her personal details ( including medical issues) spread far and wide in the press? Perhaps now is the time for her relatives to give up some of their time to help look after her like families used to do in the ‘good old days’.
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If a society is judged how it looks after the elderly and infirm I fear we shall be found wanting. Money seems to be found for fighting wars,policing the world and maintaining political correctness. Perhaps the families of these ill people are all having to work hard to fund their own homes and what was so good about the “good old days ” when people died in the workhouse I thought we had moved on perhaps not ??
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Thankyou for your comments; here are some of the facts- I looked after my mother for at least 3 years at home with the aid of Carers and friends. After a fall,at home she was admitted to the RSH where serious health problems were discovered, and she remained on an acute ward for 3 months. After this time the Hospital “needed her bed” and discussions took place between the Primary Care Trust and my mothers care manager(ward sister) and agreed that her “Identified needs will be met within a Care home setting, and subsequently the Primary Care Trust will be responsible for her care costs at the Nursing home”. She was tranferred to the River Meadows Care Home by the PCT. They have now decided to withdraw her healthcare costs after 2 years, and let somebody else provide funding. My mothers needs are still “intense,complex and unpredictable” and as such her healthcare costs should be met by the NHS, the same way that you or I could go to our Hospital for health treatment and expect the NHS to “pick up the bill”
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