You have to earn your Spurs
I DID enjoy the meme doing the rounds online this week that read: “Harry and Meghan have contacted Tottenham to ask what it’s like to live without a title.”
I should apologise on two counts: to Spurs-supporting friends who might reasonably wonder why a Bradford City fan found it so amusing. And, of course, to the Duke and Duchess of Delusion for infringing the privacy they’re always so anxious to maintain...
TWO sisters have backed Antonia’s Law after their mother suffered years of neglect in care homes.
Ashleigh Joachim, 50, and Lesley Haswell, 53, believe CCTV in Patricia Heslop’s bedroom would have helped prevent “mistreatment”.
Retired bank worker Mrs Heslop, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, was diagnosed with dementia aged 65 and spent a decade in different facilities across the North East.
She died aged 75 in 2015, after an untreated hip fracture that coroner DerekWinter ruled staff failed to report, or investigate properly.
Teacher Ashleigh, from Sunderland, says CCTV is a vital tool to solve the shocking abuse issues hidden in many care homes.
She claims over 10 years Patricia suffered bruising from rough handling, was shut in her room for hours on end, left without food and water and suffered a broken nose.
Ashleigh told the Daily Express: “The system is broken.
“My mother was vulnerable but once someone has dementia they aren’t believed.
“But CCTV would have backed up other evidence about her care.
“Staff can be prosecuted or wouldn’t be able to just move to new homes and carry on working.
“It would also act as a deterrent for staff. At the moment good carers are leaving because they are unhappy with what they see.”
Ashleigh is also campaigning for a charter to protect the human rights of dementia patients under the name
I Still Matter Now.
She added: “Dementia deaths, neglect and abuse should be a national outrage.
“If it were toddlers and babies suffering the same fate, the public would be demonstrating on our streets.
“Yet our dementia sufferers are just as vulnerable as children and babies.
“CCTV makes people accountable and works both ways. It can also protect nurses against false accusations.”