The Voice of the Adult

“They have changed the medication my Mum is on so this error can't happen again. The second incident, they told the carer to leave and they got in touch with me right away and talked to me for a long time. I did understand the actions taken to help my Mum be safe.”

Daughter of ‘Teresa’, 96

“I understood what had been done and why. The provider picked it up straight away, accepted responsibility and apologised. The missing money was repaid.”

Mum and carer of ‘Leanne’, 40

“My support worker was great, she took on board what I said and I felt listened to by her. I don't really think there was much else that anyone could do to be honest. It's hard to think of anything else that could be done with this kind of thing.”

'Ashley’, 32

“The police and the social workers kept me up to date. They came to my house - a social worker, she came twice I think. They seemed very very interested, they bent over backwards to help me. They wrote to me and said if I wanted to proceed with the matter to let them know. I did get my money back and then I said 'let's drop the matter now, I did not want to go to court proceedings'. First of all I didn't particularly want them round, but when they came they made me feel at ease. I got more money back than I thought I had lost.”

'Harold', 80

“I understand why it was flagged up and why we had to have a safeguarding meeting. I felt involved at each step. The social worker was lovely but was powerless to really do anything. I felt sympathised with and that they understood I was going through a lot, but that 'this is all we can offer'. I get everyone is doing the best they can but I don't feel like the severity of what happened has been addressed. It was like one of those non- apologies 'I'm sorry you felt....' There was no responsibility taken.”

Daughter of ‘Carol’, 64

“The risk was acknowledged and the team are trying to reduce those risks and find out if it could have been prevented or put things in place to prevent it happening again. They just wanted to make sure that the home was doing everything they possibly could to keep my Uncle safe. I felt like I was involved as much as necessary. I was asked and the outcomes I was hoping for were achieved. I think when the fall originally happened, someone had forgotten to put the sensor mat in the right place so they didn't hear - they make sure the mat is in place now.”

Niece of ‘Sean’, 92

“He used to have a lot of seizures - one or two a week that we knew about - but now he's got that care, he is a lot better. Communication was good with the Social Worker - I have to be secure and happy with the people who are dealing with him and I felt that with the Social Worker. I would just like to say 'Thanks' to those involved. I was involved plenty, I was asked questions about what he would want and what he needed and about next steps. From the very beginning, it was my brother's choice and once we were in the system, we spoke to him about what he wanted, what he didn't want and how he felt about it all. Social Services spoke with him first and then we spoke together. It was very much his decision and I understood why he said what he said and why he wanted to be in the position he is now. We were listened to. It was all about making sure he had the right care. I have been invited to meetings, [they have] been ongoing from the initial safeguarding.”

Brother and carer of ‘Maurice’, 64

“The meetings we had, we were both there, he (‘David’) was fully involved. They were held in a way that was easy for David to understand. I think both of us, not so much David, but I developed a good relationship with the social worker and my Occupational Therapist at Salford Royal. It was a bit 3 against 1 at some times, we didn't badger him but we all worked reasonably well together with David so that he could go home. There were certain things he needed to accept so that he could go home and not end up straight back in hospital again. I had quite a lot of contact with the social worker. mainly by phone which worked well for me. The agreed outcomes happened. Richard was a bit reluctant to make the lifestyle choices - the biggest issue was persuading him to accept sleeping in a bed when he went back to his flat. The physios were very good as well.”

Friend of ‘David’, 83

“It was OK how it worked out. I felt kept up to date sometimes; she (the Social Worker) came to visit me quite often, about once a week. She did listen to me when I said I didn't agree with her ideas, she asked me what I wanted - because of what I was going to do. There were quite a few meetings, I was not always invited to attend, I'm not really bothered about that.”

‘Vincent’, 73

“I called for a meeting to see the social worker's boss (I was not invited to meetings) . That meeting was helpful, some of it. The social worker's boss listened to me and took me seriously. But nothing changed as a result of it.”

Daughter of ‘Mabel’, 86

“When we realised what was happening everything was alright. When the nurses came they were very good, but it's the in-between... The meeting was helpful, it got everything out in the open. I had written everything down about what had happened when the nurses stopped coming and I read it out to them at the meeting so they should have it on record.”

Daughter of ‘Margaret’, 98

“My Social Worker really helped me with my confidence. I knew the support was there if needed. The professionals were there to protect me. My Social Worker was fantastic, she was able to use sign language. She was fantastic, really supportive. She was very good at keeping me informed, I had a really good relationship with her, she was like my anchor point; I could go back to her for safety.

As a Deaf person, having people who sign is the best possible thing - my GP can sign; I am sure if my GP was worried about me in any way she would contact my social worker. The social worker and the GP were both fantastic. I could see a good working relationship between the two, it was clear there was good communication between them.”

‘Craig’, 32

“[Though] I don't recall safeguarding, [I] feel listened to by Social Workers in general. They have been fantastic these past few months. I have dealt with different ones, some from social services, some from the memory team and some from the falls team.

I am very pleased with the social workers, everything has worked well. All the teams that go in, everything is brilliant. The carers are brilliant too - they always inform me if anything happens. I would like both the social services and the carers to know I appreciate them. Please pass on my compliments.”

Daughter of ‘Annie’, 95

I feel reassured. I feel like I would not be caught out again. I know who to contact if I had any doubts and I feel confident they would help me.

Life is just pleasant. It's not happened since anyway. At the time I did not feel unsafe but I was reassured by the social people - it must be 6 or 7 months ago and nothing else has happened. I blame myself, they seemed like such nice people.

‘Harold’, 80

The manager said 'we are not doing it on purpose' and I said 'I know you are not my Mum suffers every time something happens', it's a good job my Mum is as strong as she is.

The carers in there agree with me when I say it's not good enough and they need more [administering medication] training, but I don't know if they are getting it.

I don't feel like I can trust them to look after her properly. I don't feel like my Mum is totally safe. I am not convinced it will not happen again. Time will tell.

Daughter of ‘Teresa’, 96

It is very worrying - how many more people were affected? You have to put it in the lap of the gods and hope for the best.

There should be a clear and visible accounting system. They should look at the whole system.

Providers should be audited on how they manage people's money and the auditor should be independent, now it is staff from one house check on another house.

Mum of ‘Leanne’, 40

It has made my life an awful lot easier, not having the stress, not having to come out of work. It's made a massive difference.
My brother is happy as Larry - he gets on with the staff and he gets on with the Social Worker very well as well. He does not go out independently; before lockdown he used to go out and about but once he went into the Care Home, he was happy to move around in there - his mobility has decreased, so he now stays in his room at the care home. It doesn't bother him though, he has always been a bit of a loner. He is happy where he is and gets on well with the staff, he's in a good place. A lot safer. Absolutely.

Brother of ‘Maurice’, 64 

Nothing has really changed. She is not safe because of multiple reasons, I don't think she is necessarily unsafe because of the care company, there are rules and regulations that the system has to stick to and traffic can mean people are late and that's not their fault but it's not my Mum's fault and it impacts upon her life.

I feel worried all the time about my Mum. She has had loads of falls in a very short space of time, she doesn't want to go to a care home and I don't want to send her there. We are Orthodox Jews, so we would need to use a private care home and we can't afford that. I am the only one of the family who lives locally so it all falls to me.

Daughter of ‘Carol’, 64

It's just the same. Partly it's her behaviour. My Mum has a very complex situation - she has probably had over 50 safeguarding referrals... She is a really complex case, so there is no simple solution, but I don't feel the many safeguarding [processes] have made any difference to her.

My Mum is in a cycle of hospital admissions - I would say 20 plus a year. For me it is chaos trying to manage her. I sometimes feel in the limited interactions I do have with Social Workers, they try and put a lot on me - they don't understand why I can't do more. If there is an easy option to push it out to the carer they will. I work full time.

Daughter of ‘Eve’, 69

It went to the police, I opted to just report it rather than have him charged because we still live on the same street, he is a drug dealer and I was scared there could be repercussions. The police said I could change my mind and take it further at any time.

I had target hardening from my housing provider. My assailant is subletting and I told the Social Workers and Housing about that. I would have liked for him to be moved out - his behaviour is still as bad today as it ever has been. I hate it here honestly. I have the devices and stuff but anytime I want to go outside I feel like I can never relax. I have had to put a bolt on my gate so he can't come in the garden.

The Social Worker has told me to only use one entrance, that is away from his view. I get paranoid anytime I go out for fear of what might happen whilst I am away. It's just kind of ruined everything here. I just hate it. I feel like I might have to try and find a way to move now because I just don't know if I'm ever going to feel OK here...

'Ashley', 32

The medication issue was resolved. Am happy with the outcome, but I feel I should have been kept more informed by Social Services. Just a quick phone call telling me they knew I had spoken to the Care Home and the issue was resolved and would be closed.

I think all Care Homes have their issues and I did have a few issues about the language skills of some of the staff, but I do believe I will be told about things even if I'm not there every day.

Granddaughter of ‘Rose’