Woman being evicted from supported living home, say parents | UK News

The parents of a woman with a severe learning disability have said she is being “evicted” from her supported living home because of concerns they have raised about her care.

Mark and Marjorie Sharp said they felt that their daughter Laura was being “punished” because the care provider “wanted rid” of them.

Ms Sharp, 39, has been living at The Mews in west Belfast for seven years.

The Cedar Foundation, which runs the facility, said it could not comment on individual cases.

But the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, which commissioned the Cedar Foundation to provide Ms Sharp’s care, said it was “very sorry” that the current situation concerning her placement was “causing stress and anxiety to her and her family”.

It added: “Laura’s wellbeing is of vital importance to us and we will continue to work with her family regarding the next steps in finding the best outcome for her.”

Mr and Mrs Sharp said their daughter did not have capacity to share her story herself and that they were speaking on her behalf.

They said they were worried about their daughter’s wellbeing, particularly given her past experience as a patient of Muckamore Abbey Hospital, which is currently subject to a public inquiry.

Mr and Mrs Sharp said her mental health had deteriorated over the last year and that they had raised multiple concerns with her current care provider, including about her medication, wellbeing and cleanliness of her apartment.

There have also been ongoing issues, they said, regarding their request to bring in a private occupational therapist to assist their daughter.

Mr and Mrs Sharp said in response to their concerns, they were accused of being “abusive” to staff.

In January, they received a letter from Cedar giving eight weeks’ notice of its decision to end her care.

Mr and Mrs Sharp described this as an “eviction”.

In the letter, Cedar said it would work closely with the Belfast Trust to “minimise disruption” to Ms Sharp.

The main reason for the decision, it said, was that it was “unable to provide the care and support that Laura needs”.

It added that relationships had “broken down” between Mr and Mrs Sharp and Cedar staff, citing “ongoing incidents of verbal aggression, disparaging comments, and intimidation towards staff”.

It also said there had been “continuous contact” from the parents with visits, emails, and phone calls which had “led to unrealistic demands and pressures put on the staff and the service”.

Mr and Mrs Sharp acknowledged that they may have been in contact too much – but that they were worried for their daughter.

They said they had never been abusive.

A disability charity told News NI it had worked with “hundreds of families” in which relationships with providers have “broken down” – and in some cases become “hostile”.

Nuala Toman, head of disability and innovation at Disability Action, said: “Across the board, what we see is when a disabled person and a family raise a challenge then the system challenges back.”

News NI has spoken to another family with a loved one in a different home in a separate trust, who said they, too, felt they were being punished for making complaints about care.

Mr Sharp said: “When you raise concerns, they call that abuse. It’s not abuse. We’ve never been abusive, just questioning them.

“I have never raised my voice up there, ever, in the seven years.”

Mrs Sharp added: “If we weren’t here, they wouldn’t be evicting Laura.

“It’s us they really want rid of. And for them to put her out of there, because of concerns we’ve raised, it’s just baffling.”

While the Cedar Foundation said it could not comment on individual cases it said it was “committed to work in partnership with individuals, families, and health trusts to do [its] best to make sure disabled people get the support most appropriate to their needs”.

Ms Toman from Disability Action said disabled people and their families “deserve better”.

She said generally when families’ relationships with providers break down, it can be “very, very lonely” for them.

“And we see the detrimental impact that this hostile reaction can have on disabled people and their families. Because often the disabled person is confused. And then from the family perspective, they’re lost, alone, they’re anxious, sleep deprived.

“Disabled people and families deserve better than facing a personal challenge just because you want right to be done by yourself or your child.”

This, she added, had left people at “their wits’ end” and feeling punished – including the person living in a care setting.

She said that it was important to note, however, that this was not in every case and that the charity dealt with some “really positive” cases in which disabled people and their families were content.

Ms Toman added that the role of an advocate was vital for families to communicate with providers on their behalf, to ensure that any issues raised focus on “processes” as opposed to “the person”.

But she warned that not all families had access to effective advocates and this was an issue that needed to be addressed.

Meanwhile, Mrs Sharp said removing her daughter from her home of seven years would “wreck her” and would cause her health to decline rapidly.

She added that the couple had not gone out of their way to “look for faults”.

“That’s just being a parent, looking out for your child,” she said.

“I know she’s 39. But she could be nine or 39, she’s still your kid.”