SHOW SOME COMPASSION
FAMILY BILLED £532 BECAUSE CARE HOME DIDN’T RECEIVE 14 DAYS’ NOTICE BEFORE 90-YEAR-OLD DIED FROM COVID-19
THE family of a man who died of Covid-19 are appalled his care home is demanding cash – because he didn’t give them enough notice before he died.
Former Boots worker Joseph Dearman, 90, was a resident at Acer Court Care Home in Nottingham Road, Nuthall, before he was struck down with Covid-19 on April 12 last year.
He was rushed to the Queen’s Medical Centre but died on April 15. His care home was notified and the family collected his belongings.
They even donated his brand new wheelchair – worth around £400 – to the home in order to help other frail residents.
But in June, they were horrified to receive a letter from the home demanding they pay £532 because Mr Dearman had not given 14 days’ notice before he died.
The home wanted the family to pay from April 15 – the day he died – up to the end of the month (April 29), despite Mr Dearman receiving no care during that period.
The family refused to pay, but last week they were contacted again by the care home claiming legal action would be taken if the money is not paid in full.
Father-of-two Mr Dearman was described as “a hard-working” dad, with three grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
His daughter, Wendy Machen, 66, of Clifton, who works as a nurse, broke down in tears when she described the way the family have been treated.
She said there was “a lack of compassion” from the home, which had taken £46,000 a year from Mr Dearman for care.
She told the Post: “Having a bill to pay two weeks after he died to cover the care he never had is just awful.
“Then to threaten us with legal action if we don’t pay it. Dad was such a gentleman and never complained.
“We had to do that for him. There has been a lack of compassion by the care home. They never even sent us a card when he died.
“We had a card from the vet when our dog was put down but nothing from them.”
Mr Dearman’s son-in-law, Mark Machen, 69, said the family will not pay the bill on the grounds that it is morally wrong to demand money from a man who is dead.
He said: “They told us ‘we are a business’ and ‘what you should have done is given us notice that he was going to die.’ How can you give notice when someone is going to die?
“They said ‘that’s what we do and those are the rules’ and I said ‘get off
with you.’ Can you believe the cheek of the care home?
“Can they honestly and morally charge my wife £532 for two weeks’ care that he could not have because he was already dead?
“It is the callousness of it. My wife is devastated. They were extremely unsympathetic and just said it must be paid.
“When we cleared Joseph’s room, we left his brand new wheelchair for them to use.
“I’ve told them we are requesting the wheelchair back to offset the cost of having to pay the extra fees.”
The Post contacted Avery Healthcare, which manages the home, about the concerns of the family.
They refused to address the points raised and said they were choosing to decline to comment on this occasion.
The Competition and Markets Authority published consumer law advice on the charging of fees after a resident’s death on May 31, 2018.
They are unlikely to object to terms which allow a care home to charge fees:
(a) For no more than a reasonable short and fixed period of up to three days from the day following the resident’s death (provided that fees stop being charged if a new resident occupies the room within this period) or...
(b) Until possessions are cleared from the resident’s room (by their representatives), provided that the care home will only charge fees for up to a maximum of 10 days.
The CMA and other enforcers, including Trading Standards Services, can take action against care homes that don’t comply with consumer law.
The CMA has already taken action against some care home providers in relation to the charging of certain up-front fees and charging fees for extended periods of time after a resident’s death.