Woman evicted from NHS hospital ward after being stuck for 18 months

[SerendipityJane]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c897ew0ekp4o

Why is that relevant?

The pictures of all her things stacked up around her hospital bed was so sad. That little sparkly bag and the dolls must be things that bring her comfort. I hope she's getting on OK where she's been placed, despite her bad associations with the area. It doesn't sound ideal but it has to be better than a hospital bed even if only as somewhere to live until somewhere else more suitable can be found.

What jumped out at me was how difficult she and her mum had found it to navigate the process.

How she hadn’t been represented at all at various stages of hearings; was discharged by an advocacy service for not returning letters.

Having supported a relative in a slightly different situation – the admin burden of organising suitable support is immense – even for people who are confident and cognitively fully capable.

She needed consistent and reliable points of contact within the social care system, who could both help her navigate the process– and understand her individual situation.

The place she was offered was in a town that had trauma memories for her. I wouldn’t particularly want to move in to a place where e.g. I had been abused. Note that EUPD is closely associated with childhood sustained SA.

This is one of many consequences of chronic underfunding and lack of joined-up-thinking in social care.

What a farcical situation, waste of money and resources. No wonder our hospital corridors are full of sick people being treated when the wards are full of people with no medical need. 13,000 of them nationwide! It's a scandal. This woman was clearly an utter nightmare for everyone to deal with, refusing help, refusing to engage with services, turning down offered accommodation but refusing to discuss why, then complaining that 'she wasn't being heard'. I'm not surprised the hospital ended up calling the police - I'm only surprised it took them so long.

A lot of mental hospitals (not sure of the correct term here) disappeared in the 1960s. They weren’t seen as nice places and society wanted to do better. But I wonder if we have left a gap in the system.

If the care home she'd called home for the previous nine years saw their opportunity to wash their hands of her once she was out of the front door, it's very telling. Her vulnerability was less of an issue than her attitude.

The amount of money, time and energy being spent on just one individual is outrageous. There are thousands of people in this country who would dearly love to be given 1% of the help and attention this woman was given and squandered.

'How we treat our most vulnerable is a sign of how civilised we are' notwithstanding, what do you do with someone like this?

Totally agree with this and her bed area must have been a complete hazard .

She's obviously very annoying, but nobody has disputed that she needs physical care: out of 121 providers approached, only one offered a care package, which she refused. In law, she's entitled to a choice of care package, and the court has managed to find a way around that entitlement, which is not a great precedent for care clients. The problem is surely lack of suitable care provision, not 'annoying woman is annoying'.

I don't see the hospital or social care have done anything wrong. She sounds like a complete nightmare-she has capacity and yet abuses staff and harms herself when things don't go her way. The amount of money spent supporting her must be huge and all for no gain to society.

I think you're being harsh on this woman. She clearly has severe mental health problems - to put it bluntly, what sane person would choose to stay in a hospital bed for months, over supported accommodation?

I was thinking the same thing. Are mental health institutions the way forward or are such places unimaginable, these days?

Heck of a lot more to it. she's in my local hospital

Suffice as to say it will never be resolved to her satisfaction

Where could they have "chucked her"?. The perimeter of the hospital site?

It sounds like she would have raised hell if she was moved. She sounds very mentally poorly and vulnerable.

What we 'the system" have done with this sort of issue 30+ years ago?

What do you mean?

I agree with most of this but I do think that regardless of the amounts of support there was always going to be issues.

I'm confused to how someone deemed her to have capacity when she obviously has some kind of impairment that requires her to have 24/7 care. If someone had been appointed to make decisions on her behalf it would have saved a significant cost and been far less stressful for all involved.

The Tory Governments closed the mental hospitals in droves- for “ Don’t care in the community”

That creepy doll in the image puts my teeth on edge.

It’s ridiculous that someone can basically “squat “ in a hospital cubicle and refuse to move.

I agree. Treating people in the community isn't the best fit for all and it's not working with limited funding and resources. I don't know what the solution is but maybe something that meets in the middle.

I watched a documentary about a prison in the Merseyside area. There was a man who kept being sentenced to serve time for petty offences who claimed his needed a wheelchair. The staff had cctv footage of him standing and walking but he insisted he needed a wheelchair and help to toilet. He'd soil himself deliberately in his cell claiming he needed assistance leaving his cell and him covered in excrement. The staff were resigned to having to get the cell cleaned over and over again, doctors had assured the man there was nothing medically wrong with him. When the man was discharged after serving his sentence the prison officers stated he'd be back in a few days. He had no family support outside. He was a young man with obvious mental health issues.

this is an intolerable situation not fair on the patient and not fair on other people in the ward. it is a vicious circle with operating lists increasing the long wait for the most simple or routine ops which people like the woman exasperating.
it is clear the lady has complex needs which understandably a lot of homes are not willing to undertake. it may not be a popular opinion but when the old mental institutions were shut it left a lot of people being without suitable living situations. the people were supposed to be supported in the community but reality and plans did not meet.
Nursing homes are really more for physical illness' and the staff are not trained for mental health care.

That's insane. Her mother was mentioned, why could she not take some responsibility?

There were still large psychiatric hospitals with long term wards in the 80s . I did my old style RGN training in the mid 80s and did my 8 weeks mental health unit at St Augustine’s near Canterbury . No they weren’t nice but some of the long term patients had been there for 40/50 years and it must have been very distressing when they closed . It really was a community .

it may not be a popular opinion but when the old mental institutions were shut it left a lot of people being without suitable living situations. the people were supposed to be supported in the community but reality and plans did not meet.

Of course not. It would have eliminated the profits from flogging off the land.

Completely agree. This is an unusual case and it's a shame because there are huge issues with social care and this isn't typical of them.

Tbh this woman of 35 who is in a wheelchair for a PD diagnosis sounds as though she wasn't engaging in the help she was given, dare I say it. She sounds difficult. I question why the BBC has chosen to give her so much coverage. I fear it's for more rage baiting.

It's utterly depressing that it took so long but the courts are also overwhelmed and eviction is a long process.

If someone like this IS offered a place with support then not sure they should be allowed to refuse. It brought to mind something on the news the other day about a vicious murderer who should have been on medication but refused as he didn't like needles. It's pathetic, and there has to be a line where things are mandatory when they are for the good of not only the person concerned, but for society in general. Won't happen though, too many whinging liberal lefties around.