A pensioner with dementia has been removed from her Shropshire care home with only two days’ warning after her quarter-million-pound life savings were depleted through care expenses.
Brenda Miles, 98, had lived at Innage Grange in Bridgnorth for five years before being relocated on October 31, when her funds dropped below the state assistance threshold.
The retired bookbinder, who requires constant supervision due to dementia and mobility difficulties, was transferred to Hilton Brook House, a less expensive facility in the same town.
Upon arriving at her new accommodation, the elderly widow reportedly asked: “Where are all my friends?” according to her niece Victoria Fellows, who described the situation as “heartbreaking”.
Mrs Miles, who has no children, established herself at Innage Grange in 2020, two years after losing her husband Gordon.
The couple’s Bridgnorth bungalow sale proceeds, combined with their accumulated savings, provided approximately £240,000 to fund her care.
Monthly fees at the facility reached £4,000, amounting to £48,000 annually, steadily eroding her financial resources over five years.
The former bookbinder had celebrated her 98th birthday at the home in August with an afternoon tea gathering, just months before her forced departure.
Brenda Miles, who has dementia, was relocated after five years at Innage Grange care home
|
GOOGLEHer capital eventually diminished below £23,000, the point at which local authority support becomes accessible for care home residents.
Family members approached Shropshire Council requesting financial assistance to maintain her residence at Innage Grange during her final years, but authorities rejected the application.
Council officials determined that the care home’s fees exceeded what they could reasonably subsidise, insisting Mrs Miles relocate to more affordable accommodation.
The local authority arranged her transfer to Hilton Brook House, where monthly charges are approximately £2,400, significantly lower than her previous facility’s costs.
The widow was moved to the cheaper Hilton Brook House care home, prompting her to ask: ‘Where are all my friends?’
|
Mrs Miles’ niece, Victoria Fellows, revealed she first contacted the council in July, but officials only confirmed in late September that they would not cover Innage Grange’s fees.
“They gave us two weeks to act and then two days’ notice,” the 41-year-old Isle of Wight resident stated.
The family’s attempts to secure a review of the decision proved fruitless, despite enlisting help from South Shropshire MP Stuart Anderson, who unsuccessfully petitioned the council to reconsider their stance.
Ms Fellows has accused the council of “dumping” her elderly relative, condemning their treatment of the vulnerable pensioner.
“The whole situation is just plain wrong. How can you put a 98-year-old through so much upheaval?” she said.
The data annotation worker expressed particular distress about her aunt’s confusion upon arrival, when Mrs Miles asked about the whereabouts of her friends.
“They didn’t even move all her belongings into Hilton Brook House. She still has pictures on the wall back in her old room,” Ms Fellows revealed.
She described the council’s approach in stark terms: “As far as I can tell they sent a taxi, picked up an old lady and dumped her.”
Ms Fellows criticised the new accommodation as unsuitable for someone with her aunt’s complex needs, particularly highlighting the absence of ensuite facilities.
“The room isn’t an ensuite, which is hardly handy for a 98-year-old with dementia,” she explained.
“The upheaval of moving for her is very upsetting for someone who has always worked and lived her whole life to be treated like this is just not right,” she said, per The Sun.