Seriously disabled adults let down by Sutton Council claim parents (From Sutton Guardian)

Seriously disabled adults let down by Sutton Council claim parents

7:50am Monday 25th January 2010 in News By Julia Kennard

Seriously disabled adults let down by Sutton Council claim parents

Vulnerable and seriously disabled adults are having their lives put in danger because they are being left alone, concerned parents have claimed.

Colin Milne, 70, said high-dependent residents at the newly built £3m Ashcombe Court, in Carshalton, are being put at risk because Sutton Council has only paid for eight carers for the ten patients currently at the site.

Mr Milne, whose son Darrell, 46, has the mental capacity of a two-year-old and suffers from epilepsy, said the arrangement meant residents who need one-to-one care when awake are sometimes left alone.

He said he feared his son may have a major epileptic fit when a carer is attending to another resident, or preparing for a handover with another colleague.

Mr Milne said his son is also at risk of falling out of his wheelchair, or being strangled by the chair’s seatbelt, if left unattended.

He said blame lay at the door of Sutton’s Council’s costed care plan, not with care providers Choice Support, and has lodged a complaint with the authority.

Mr Milne said: “Darrell has the mental capacity of an eighteen-month-old, if a registered childminder were to leave a child of that age in a flat on their own they would be reported to police for abuse or neglect.

“We have also been told there is a transition period after which there is going to be a reduction in staff – this will lead to abuse by neglect.”

Mr Milne said his fears for his son’s safety were exacerbated in light of the case of brain-damaged pensioner Brigid O’Callaghan, 74, who died after she was strangled by a wheelchair’s lapbelt in a Bupa care home in 2005.

Adults at Ashcombe court formerly lived at Orchard Hill – the last community-based hospital for severe learning disabilities – and moved into their new home in December.

MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake said the Sutton Guardian had drawn his attention to some “serious allegations” and said he would seek an “urgent response” from the council and the care providers.

Councillor Colin Stears, executive member for adult social services and housing said: “We provide dedicated support and intensive staffing based on assessment of the individual needs of each tenant, which is agreed between the care provider, relatives, advocates and the council to ensure tenants are not at risk.

“Staff from the previous accommodation have moved on to Ashcombe Court and staff levels have not decreased.

“The new one-bedroom apartments are equipped to enable tenants to live as independently as possible, improving their quality of life.”