International Law

Over the top

By John Hirst

The family of a 101-year-old woman being forced to move from a care home have said they will consider taking further legal action if she dies.

I am aware that moving house tends to be a stressful experience. I have no knowledge why the council decided to close this particular care home. One of the factors of life is that anyone of us can die at anytime. The odds of this happening shorten as the years go by. To reach a century is a good innings. Therefore, it strikes me as being over the top that this old dear's relatives have stated that they will consider taking legal action if she kicks the bucket. They have already cost the council over £118,000 being awkward, and that does not include the Legal Aid bill nor the council's legal costs defending the action.

Whilst I can understand the need for the council to provide care for this frail old lady, I am at a loss as to why the council felt they needed to leave 17 members of staff at the care home just for one resident? So, whilst I think the relatives action is over the top. This is matched by the council's staffing levels. Does the taxpayers need to lose out in this battle between relatives and the council to see who can be more excessive?

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on October 09, 2008 (boomark / email).