If Dad knew I was selling his house it would kill him
THE daughter of a 94-year-old Cold War pilot whose home must be sold to pay for his care says the system is a travesty of justice.
Ex-squadron leader Peter Thomas has no idea his and wife Pearl’s £400,000plus four-bedroom home is being put up for sale by their daughter Dawn.
Dawn, 61, who says she feels “broken”, revealed: “I’m forced to lie to him to say, ‘Everything’s all right, don’t worry about it’.
“In the meantime I’m going home and ripping the place apart, taking all his possessions before it’s sold.
“I want to say, ‘Dad, this is what I’m being made to do’ and he would go nuts...it would probably kill him.”
Vulcan bomber pilot Peter, who was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1958, is at the end stages of Alzheimer’s.
Pearl, 89, has vascular dementia and has needed round-the-clock care since falling at their home near Leicester.
Dawn, of Bedford, said: “My dad, who defended the country to the highest level, saved all his money and wanted his family to benefit from that, is going to get it all taken away – and I haven’t got the heart to tell him.” Peter has not been assessed for free NHS social care through Continuing Healthcare Funding.
Dawn said: “Dementia is not classed as a healthcare issue, it’s a social care issue and this is how they dodge the bullet.”
Sally Copley of Alzheimer’s Society said: “We hear tragic stories like this every day. No one should face these catastrophic bills to pay for care.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of our biggest challenges and we will be bringing forward a plan this year.”