£80k care bill... four years af ter mum died
Family’s shock as council sues for nursing home fees
A PENSIONER is being sued by a council for his mother’s £80,000 nursing home bill – four years after her death.
Beryl Godfrey was bedridden, deaf, had a brain tumour, failing eyesight and a collapsed spine when she died, aged 93, in 2015.
Originally from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, she was moved to a care home in Perth in 2008 to be nearer her family with the health authority in England footing the bill.
Now Perth and Kinross Council is taking legal action over her care home fees it inherited. Her son John, 71, who is disabled, said he and wife Julia, 69, who has a heart condition and arthritis, are ‘devastated’ that they are being pursued for the bill. He said: ‘We have been victims of flawed process. We have fought for mum for over 40 years of our 49-year marriage.
‘We are pensioners now and need to look after our own disabilities and have some peace.’
Mrs Godfrey suffered numerous mental and physical health problems during her lifetime. She was deafened by a V2 rocket during the Second World War and later suffered several mental breakdowns.
She was immobile for many years and obese.
In 2008, she was put into nursing care and was moved to the Kippen Care Centre, Dunning, Perthshire.
She was deemed eligible for a scheme called NHS Continuing Healthcare. Under it, the NHS funds nursing care outside hospital for patients with complex medical needs.
That meant NHS Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust would pay her nursing home fees.
However, it axed its funding for her in 2010, saying it was no longer responsible. Her family insist that the funding should not have been withdrawn.
Perth and Kinross Council began billing Mrs Godfrey for her nursing home fees via her son, and a battle ensued. Several appeals have failed so far.
Anyone admitted to a care home in Scotland must pay their own fees if they have capital of more than £28,000 including the value of their home.
Mrs Godfrey’s house was sold in 2010 for £227,000 with her family inheriting the proceeds – but the council is seeking the care home fees from that cash.
Her son, a retired Navy radio operator of Kinnesswood, Kinross, added: ‘My mother’s life shaped our lives. We are worn out and want peace. Our lives are on hold with all the stress. We just want our lives back.’
A spokesman for Perth and Kinross Council said: ‘There are ongoing legal proceedings and it would be inappropriate to comment.’