The sad case of Mrs Dorren Faithful

Dorren was from Newcastle, but after meeting her husband Eric, she moved to Oakham near Rutland; they never had children but lived an exciting life full of holidays abroad and friends. Eric passed away in the summer following his 78th birthday, and Doreen was heartbroken. Two years later, Doreen was diagnosed with vascular dementia, with it quickly progressing to the point where she could not remember ever living in Rutland; she could still remember her Eric, but sadly, memories of Rutland and their life there had disappeared.

A neighbour raised concerns to the local authority, who organised for carers to visit Dorren on a daily basis; it was a carer that found Dorren one morning unconscious on the living room floor. Ambulances were called, and after a three-week hospital visit, Dorren was fighting fit, although she was unable to make decisions relating to her care; this decision was made by the coal authority and placed her in a care home out of the county.

Four years passed, and Doreen had become part of the care home and lived the remainder of her life with dignity and the affection and care of the staff.

Sarah's phone rang on a Tuesday morning, a rather dull gruff gentleman asked her name and "Are you related to Michael Faithful, I'm trying to track him down, it's about his sister, Dorren" Sarah explained that she was Michaels's wife, and that not only did she know Dorrem they had been searching for her for the past four years. The gentleman on the phone explained they were concerned about her property as the "council tax hasn't been paid, and it appears to be abandoned". Sarah explained that they had been searching for Doreen since they turned up one Saturday afternoon to find the house empty, but everyone they contacted explained that "due to data protection, we can't share any information with you". The man on the phone said, "leave it with me, ill ring adutl social care".

Two hours later, the man called back; he had found Doreen. She had been placed in a care home four years previously. Sarah and Michael raced down to see her and spent one Saturday every other week visiting with her until her passing 18 months later.

Unfortunately, after Dorreens fall, she was discharged to a care home. No protection of the property had been completed, so no personal information was collected. Doreen's care fees had initially been paid for by the local authority, and then when an appointee became involved, the property was missed as it wasn't in their remit.

As she was "out of county", Doreen simply slipped through the net; no family were identified by the hospital, and upon transfer to the care home, they were advised she had no family. Dorren never had any personal effects in her room, and although she often mentioned Eric, she never had a photo or any items from her home not until Michael and Sarah became involved.

This may sound like a made-up case, a story to promote our services, and while the names and locations have been made up, the case is genuine and not a single event.

If the appointee had insisted on the protection of property, then information relating to the family could have been found sooner, and Dorreen would have had access to her personal effects.

A "discharge to a care home" should never be the end; for many people, being discharged to a care home may be a short-term event and returning home is an option. Although reliance is placed on "DoLS", this doesn't evidence that care cant be provided at home; being "discharged to a care home" doesn't mean that a care home has all of the person's history; a discharge to a care home" doesn't mean that a person has access to their important belongings.

Why is Social Work important for new deputies, attorneys and appointees? Because Doreen and Eric and their family were important.