Mr John Barrass never imagined he would become a campaigner until his mother became ill. Read his story, featured here in full.
‘CARE MEANS CARE , JUSTICE IN CARE .’
‘THE NURSING HOME SECTOR is in crisis it has been in crisis for the last 20 years and has no one other than the trust lawyers practicing Orange County to help them to handle this crisis.
No rights, No justice, for any of the frail, vulnerable, elderly, it needs a massive political debate of all colors to change it! With the estate planning law firm serving Minneapolis supporting this cause, then it will turn into a revolution to make sure that all the elders receive honor and respect and will never be ill-treated in the future.
Please have patience to read this DOCUMENT to the end.
Thank you.
John Malcolm Barrass.
29 th October 2015.
THIS INVESTIGATION AND THESE RECOMMENDATIONS OF MINE WOULD SEE THE BIGGEST CHANGES AND REFORM SINCE JOHN MAJOR CLOSED LONG TERM WARDS DOWN BACK IN 1989, 26 YEARS AGO !!
WILL YOU READ A HARD STORY TO TELL AN INNOCENT PRISONER , AND THE INVESTIGATION ,WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.
THANK YOU
JOHN MALCOLM BARRASS 4 TH APRIL 2015 .
In this country , if you are old , frail , you are not only vulnerable , you are bottom of the pile , end of your life , so what ,it doesn’t matter.
We have had 20 years or more of appalling care to prove this, had documentaries made , appalling stories told !
Nothing has been done about this.
THE FACTS
THIS IS A HARD STORY TO TELL.
Imagine what it must be like to be paralysed on one side ,unable to talk or call out for help ,press a buzzer, eat or drink, unable to walk , then imagine being fed and watered via a tube, the only quality of life you have is to see and hear people.
You are told you need a stimulating environment and responsive therapy.
Instead you are placed in a nursing home which is unsuitable for your needs.
Denied a correct chair for your quality of life, you cannot get out of your room for 4 months, then given a standard transit wheelchair deemed to be unsafe, under the health and safety factor ( had to support mums head once for 2 hrs with my own hand whilst wheeling her around in this chair ) , had to use this chair for 8 months, then when given the correct chair, but not enough staff to get out you out of your room on a regular basis.
Imagine being left in a soiled bed for 1 to 3 hrs,(one time left for 1 hr 20 mins the staff preferred to have there tea break first) However your mouth is not swabbed regularly so you develop crusty lumps around your teeth and on your tongue , nearly die in the first month of care , due to a chest infection not dealt with properly and promptly, blood tests not done on time, and then develop the worst case of constipation a hospital Dr has seen in 9 years, because you were not given the correct bowel medication, care home Dr say your family are fixated on this.
ALL THIS HAPPENED IN A NORTH DEVON NURSING HOME ,DEEMED TO BE ONE OF THE BEST IN DEVON.
WHAT MUST ALL THE OTHERS BE LIKE?
ARE YOU SHOCKED AND APPALLED.
On 23 rd October during the early hours of the morning , my mum died in a North Devon Hospital.
The last 6 days of her life saw her experience great suffering beyond anything she had already endured in the 4 years leading up to this time and place
Her feed tube needed changing ,could and should have been changed one month earlier. Due to this, complications set in .
( which involved a drug , flu vaccination, super public catheter ) .
Mum’s last 6 days not checked by a Doctor , no management on at the weekend, allowed to have a feed tube change on Monday, when clearly condition at weekend needed looking into.
After being administered a Flu Jab one afternoon by the evening she had mucus / saliva running from the corner of her mouth like a water tap switched on, this continued for 4 days, then subsided for 6 days.
Day one Saturday. However when swabbing mums mouth I noticed a massive / piece and amount of mucus / saliva heavy phlegm . Staff told us it was only phlegm and did not call a Doctor.
After this the emergency Doctor was called who immediately rang for an ambulance and oxygen for mum.
Mum arrived at the hospital 4 blood tests were taken.
One arrived within 30 mins , found she had a major infection, put her on antibiotics , she was transferred to the medical assessment unit, her breathing has eased a little.
It is a shock and more than I can bear.
QUESTIONS ARE RISING FROM ALL OF MUM’S CARE AND LAST 6 DAYS!
1. The parliamentary ombudsman would not investigate this only access!
2.We have 20 questions and issues unanswered by the p ombudsman!
3.Find they had 9 limited powers to investigate!
4.The legality side, costs outweigh compensation for the elderly.
5.After 5 years investigating this , nowhere to go to get this looked into properly or fairly!
6.This raises serious questions for everyone!
7.If they cant look into mum’s case properly or fairly !
8.They cant look into anyone else’s properly or fairly!
9.How can this be right!
WHAT WE WANT ANSWERS TO ARE :-
Why did my mother go to have a feed tube change to keep her alive , to die 3days after!
Why was my mother put through all of this !
For what reason!
I simply ask the question WHY.
QUESTIONS I ASK DURING MY MOTHERS TREATMENT,AND MY 5 YEAR INVESTIGATING THE SYSTEM IN GREAT DETAIL ARE :-
1.Are the parliamentary Ombudsman fit for purpose to look into private nursing homes?
2.Are the CQC fit for purpose when they still do not look into individual cases in nursing homes?
3.Have nursing homes got enough staff and quality staff to take care of vulnerable patients who need 24 hour care?
4.Should patients like my mother ever have been put into these homes ?
5.Should there be special NHS units for 24 hour care patients with multiple health needs like my mums ?
6.What rights have the old , frail, and vulnerable got in private nursing homes?
7.Continuing health care funding for the very vulnerable paid by the tax payer to private nursing homes, yet have loopholes in the system not to be investigated thoroughly ?
8.Care means Care whether it is Private or NHS, when anything serious happens in nursing homes, and it involves the hospital NHS, both sides will not comment what the other side have done , yet are both caring for a patient, so the patient gets caught in the middle of all of this not getting clear answers to what has happened to them?
9.Equipment ie specialist equipment , profiling beds etc, no law to make the nursing homes provide , the CCG were set up to deal with this, but still problems with no law to provide?
10.Because of the system as it is ,when anyone finds anything out no one will talk after fear of legal action, there has to be a new system free from legal interference?
11.Because of continuing health care paid for 24 hr vulnerable patients, paid by the taxpayer, it is the Government NHS responsibility not the legal responsibility to investigate accountability and answers for the families of love ones who have been affected ?
MY RECOMMENDATIONS!
1.A big political debate about all my investigation raises!
2. The PASC should hold meetings only about the nursing home sector and nothing else ,so they know more and can scrutinise more!
3.The CQC and the parliamentary Ombudsman are not fit for purpose anymore to inspect , regulate , and investigate nursing homes and a new one body only needs to be set up , with more powers to regulate , inspect ,investigate nursing homes doing the job together, to investigate all individual cases , to get accountability , free from legal interference .
4.Because the system as it stands at the moment , no one will ever get justice.
No one under the word ‘Care’ should ever have to go through this .
Don’t let this happen to anyone’s mother again.
When independent consultant nurse Lynne Phair said in the Panorama Documentary ‘Behind closed doors ‘ on 30th April 2014 ” To pull out a vulnerable patients buzzer is to cut there lifeline , and to imprison them “.
That must be what happened to my mum , she was imprisoned for a crime she did not commit.
I believe these deplorable events must be brought to the public’s attention to prevent similar things happening again, after all , anyone of us who cannot talk , shout out for help without enough staff and quality staff to look after us must be in prison too.
Thanking you all for taking the time to read this,It is desperately important this gets out to the public.
Anything you can do to help will be appreciated .
Yours Sincerely
John Malcolm Barrass.
Thursday 26 th March 2015. ‘