Married 67 years … now they could be torn apart over care costs
A cOUPlE married for 67 years face being separated in a row with their council over care fees.
Frank and Mary Springett had already been forced to sell their house to cover the costs of the care home they moved into in March.
But the money will soon run out and Solihull council says it will then only pay for the care of Mrs Springett, 86. it means the couple could be forced to live apart, which their family says would leave them devastated.
Mr Springett, a 91-year- old former factory worker, has arthritis and the muscle stiffness condition polymyalgia rheumatica, and is almost totally deaf. his wife has severe Alzheimer’s.
their daughter Joanne Downes, 57, said: ‘We fear if they are torn apart the strain will kill them.’
the couple met in 1949 at an ice-skating rink when Frank was 22 and Mary 17. in May they renewed their wedding vows on the day of Prince harry and Meghan’s wedding.
they lived independently in their own home until March, when caring for Mrs Springett became too much for her husband. their family took the decision to move them nearer, to the cedar lodge care home.
As homeowners, the couple were liable to pay their £8,000-amonth care fees. to cover this, they sold their £156,000 home in henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire.
But with the proceeds now running low, Mrs Downes said social services told the family her parents would be moved to different homes – separating the couple for the first time in seven decades.
She said: ‘it would devastate my mother if my father was not with her, and vice versa. i cannot and will not accept that they cannot be together.’
Mrs Springett’s Alzheimer’s is
‘The strain will kill them’
getting worse, while her husband needs a walking frame to get around.
Mr Springett’s hands are also swollen due to arthritis and he needs help with basic tasks. the home ‘does everything for them’, the family said.
But while Solihull council has offered to contribute towards Mrs Springett’s £975-a-week care costs, it says her husband, whose fees are £925 a week, is able to look after himself.
Mrs Downes said: ‘ they will pay £500 per week towards my mum’s care but we will need to pay a top-up fee of £475 a week. But … they say [Mr Springett] can live in a flat in the community with carers coming in.’
the family is keeping the funding row secret from Mr Springett. Mrs Downes told the Sunday People: ‘i have asked the social services, “What about my parents’ emotional needs?”
‘i don’t know what we will do when the money runs out. i am at breaking point, this whole situation is making me ill. i cannot let my father know what is going on – it will kill him.’
Mrs Downes and her brother Roderick have made three appeals to social services but said all concluded their parents should be separated.
the family are now taking their case to an ombudsman. Under England’s care system, the elderly have to pay the full cost of their care down to their last £23,500. Patients with complex, severe or unpredictable needs can receive funding through what is called nhS continuing healthcare.
Solihull council said it understood and respected the desire of couples to stay together in care. A spokesman said: ‘ in some situations people decide to fund themselves, and we do our best to make them and their family aware of the financial implications of this.
‘We would be happy to meet in person with the family to explain things further.’