Sheltered/Supported Accommodation & Care Homes — Scope | Disability forum
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Sheltered/Supported Accommodation & Care Homes

Roddy
Roddy Community member Posts: 445 Pioneering
Are you residing in a Sheltered/Supported Accommodation facility due to age, illness or disability? 

I would like to hear from any of you that are, and from those who rely & depend upon support in any capacity on a daily basis... Are you happy with the level of support you receive for example, or perhaps you've experienced neglect or failures of duty?  On the other hand, you may have nothing else but praise for your care & support workers?

I'm not encouraging anybody to 'name & shame' but if you consider that you have any ongoing issues and feel that you're not being listened to when you make justifiable complaints, then please bring these matters to my attention, and for others to add their own comments and advice.

Take care

Rodders...




Comments

  • Antonia_Alumni
    Antonia_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 1,780 Pioneering
    Hi @Roddy

    Thank you for sharing this with us. Some of our members may be able to share their experiences with you soon. How are doing?
  • Roddy
    Roddy Community member Posts: 445 Pioneering
    Hi @Roddy

    Thank you for sharing this with us. Some of our members may be able to share their experiences with you soon. How are doing?
    Hi Antonia, I am still as yet to receive any replies. However, it could be than no other member is or has been experiencing similar issues (which would be encouraging and good to know!) 

    My own situation is however evident and ongoing :-(:neutral:



  • Sam_Alumni
    Sam_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,671 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Roddy
    Have you had a poor experience? 
    Scope
    Senior online community officer
  • Roddy
    Roddy Community member Posts: 445 Pioneering
    Sam_Scope said:
    Hi @Roddy
    Have you had a poor experience? 
    @Sam_Scope

    Yes I have. A terrible state of affairs which are still present and ongoing... Basically, I was placed into a sheltered/supported accommodation facility in February 2017. There are currently 7 elderly sick & disabled residents at the home which has been under the management of a landlord for 12 years. The landlord/owner has no recognised qualifications or training in this area and neither have any of line managers or staff. 

    The property was bequeathed to them as a gift. The current landlord reappointed a manager that had previously been dismissed by the previous owners for abusing residents, one of who was 100 years of age. ALL complaints are treated with disdain and many have been made prior to my residency and throughout it. Many of these complaints are very serious ones indeed, and yet they are not addressed... In my instance, having made a justifiable complaint to Head Office following my first 6 months of being ignored, victimised and lied to, the message was intercepted by those responsible. I was told the following day that I was being moved out. Since that time the abuse, neglect and victimisation escalated to the point that I became suicidal and my health & wellbeing deteriorated. A Safety Protection Order was placed on me. The Officer was lied to and duped in order to instil the sense that all was well. My landlord and support team wanted me out so quickly that they began to suggest that I was in rent arears. Twice. These were revoked following investigation by my local authority. I was then handed an Eviction Notice, which again has been deemed as an act of revenge and has also been subsequently revoked.

     I may add at this point that there are several residents here with mental health issues and a suicidal history. NO RESIDENT has received an assessment by any medical professional for 11 years in one instance of an 80 years old man. ALL residents are charged for Services that do not exist, are not provid3ed nor have they been received by any resident prior to or during my residency. ALL residents are strictly banned from answering the front door, they have no key to their room, are fed regimentally with whatever is shoved in front of them, whilst staff sit comfortably watching tv with their plate piled high with hot food. Get this, from 27/02/2017 I have received no more than TWO hot drinks and at one point I was being charged £70.83 per week for all meals. I have not had ONE single breakfast throughout my entire residency. No one. I am prevented from using the kitchen (despite promotional sings that state differently) and during the death of Winter I have had to heat tins of food upon the radiator in my room, to the knowledge of staff. My waste bin is not even emptied for me. I have to cart it outside in all weathers despite being sick & disabled. My mail is held from me. My room has been entered in my absence. My mail has even been opened by staff, and my medications have not been ordered and/or have been substituted/mixed up with other residents medications. 

    I pay a weekly service charge of £18.95 for Personal Cleaning for example. NOT ONCE HAS MY WASH BASIN BEEN CLEANED, MY HAND TOWEL BEEN LAUNDERED OR MY ROOM HOOVERED BY STAFF. It has not been uncommon for me and other resident to have waited up to 6 weeks for bedding to be serviced and/or laundered. I have sat in my room for 10 days without any staff checking on me or even knocking on my door. I have been refused the use of a hoover (despite the fact that I can barely stand unaided) and I am the only resident to have been refused any support with my DWP claims, and have had my access to the Wifi denied. Press the Emergency Alarm and nobody comes. If it wasn't for me having to struggle to the toilets, and perhaps bumping into a member of staff, nobody would know if I was dead or alive. My Landlord receives £300 per week, per resident for the privilege. 

    Ask for something, and you don't get. If you complain, you didn't ask... there have been several occasions when staff have simply left the building leaving residents to care for residents and without any notification. No heating or hot water for 2 weeks... No milk, no telephone and breaches of Health & Safety Left Right & Centre, including Fire Safety/Emergency regulations. 

    18 years old volunteers, left alone to care and support the elderly sick and disabled for up to 8 hours or more, cooking all meals, dealing with medications and without the slightest bit of knowledge or knowhow... more recently I met with the CEO, as I am now at the stage of legal proceedings for discrimination. The CEO has threatened all staff that they risk losing their jobs in they testify on my behalf. Residents the same. Various signs & notices are stripped from walls when certain visitors arrive, and then get replaced again after the visit. 'Everything' looks rosy, but behind closed doors it's an absolute disgrace. I have contacted  every person of authority  that you could think of: My local MP; Shelter; Civil Legal; CAB; etc. and those that have intervened have again been duped and lied to. 

    However, since 16/02/2017 I have been keeping accurately timed & dated diaries of events and photo's and have made several Subject Access Requests to various parties. All of combined evidence can substantiate beyond any reasonable doubt that my Landlord acts fraudulently, immorally and illegally. The solicitors now dealing with my cases, have instructed me that they would not even consider any parts of my claims unless it had  a 50% chance of success.  They consider my chances to be in excess of 80%  

    The abhorrent Team Leader/Manger of my facility has been currently suspended, but I can assure you that she will not be the only person held to account. The abuse, incompetence and the total disdain towards the elderly sick and disabled here, is institutionalised throughout Head Office too. 

    The above is only a VETY small & brief synopsis. The wider picture is enough to make any professional or supportive worker, weep with disgust. 

    Have I had a poor experience?  You bet I have. 
  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
    Oh @Roddy, I'm truly sorry to hear this. Nobody should have to feel like they aren't being heard and aren't getting the quality of care you deserve. 

    You mention having trouble making complaints to the Head Office, so it might be time to take this up with other organisations. There's some great in-depth guidance on making complaints in this manual, however it's very text heavy. Instead, I'd recommend having a look at this Scope page on housing advice and contacting the relevant organisations. Shelter in particular may be best placed to help:

    • Shelter: Free, confidential advice to people with all kinds of housing problems through online housing information, helpline and face-to-face services.

  • Roddy
    Roddy Community member Posts: 445 Pioneering
    Oh @Roddy, I'm truly sorry to hear this. Nobody should have to feel like they aren't being heard and aren't getting the quality of care you deserve. 

    You mention having trouble making complaints to the Head Office, so it might be time to take this up with other organisations. There's some great in-depth guidance on making complaints in this manual, however it's very text heavy. Instead, I'd recommend having a look at this Scope page on housing advice and contacting the relevant organisations. Shelter in particular may be best placed to help:

    • Shelter: Free, confidential advice to people with all kinds of housing problems through online housing information, helpline and face-to-face services.

    Hi @Pippa_Scope. Thank you for your obvious concern and for the links which I shall peruse in depth. 

    My reason for joining Scope was to raise this issue. Shelter, are aware as so too are the Local Councillors, one of which I believe has interviewed several other residents. It has been a long, tiring and stressful time for me, but I am adamant to bring those responsible to justice.  

    My Landlord is also a so-called 'Charitable Trust' and they have been masquerading and promoting themselves as just that. The matters that I have been able to uncover go beyond my own personal experiences with them. As with most things, there are strict levels of protocol that I have had to follow and use before going further. I have followed those levels, and once my discrimination cases have been served (they have been protectively issued) and I'm in a better position subject to the outcome, only then can I bring all of this to the attention of The Charities Commission and yes, if need be, the press and tv media. 

    There has been one death here during my residency, and that also is being investigated. Another resident (I kid you not) reported his suicidal tendencies to the Team Leader. She told nobody else. No other staff, night staff, medical professionals or anybody at all. Residents however were very aware of his obvious decline... SIX MONTH LATER he went berserk and all staff left site leaving us residents to deal with him from 3:30pm to 5:15am. The telephone had been cut off for our use. The emergency services took all that time to arrive. 10:20pm the following evening, he was dumped off back again covered in his own excrement, no key to his room, heavily sedated and no staff on site. I was the only resident awake and the paramedics thought I was staff. The Team Leader arrived at 8:00am and decided to have a fire test... No concern, or anything. I am the youngest resident here at 61 years. The eldest is 91 years and bed bound. ALL of us are quite sick, ill and disabled. It's why we are here! 

    This same 91 years old man was very sick with the flu, He never left his room for 3 weeks. NO doctor was called and trust me, he only just came through. "It's only a cold, he'll get better' was the Staff's response. The man that sadly died, had also been ill in his bed for one week before ANY doctor was called. He was rushed to hospital and passed away three days later... The Team Leader said: "Oh well, we have an empty room now..."  Many of his belongings were thrown away before any of his family were informed. 

    I've only been here for 2+ years from the 11 that they have run this place. 
    The tings that have come to light prior to my own residency defy belief. Honestly they do. All of these things will be revealed in court and most certainly by the end of this year. My solicitors have already accumulated over 1500 A4 sized papers & documents together with witness accounts. I'm gonna throw the book at these hateful people. The residents here deserve better. Much better. AMEN


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