Carers for a 94 year old woman have been ordered to leave her home by the Court of Protection.
In London Borough of Redbridge v G & Ors, a judge found that the carers continuing to live in the woman’s house would not serve her best interests.
The woman, identified as ‘G’ in the judgment, was described by the judge as an “old and frail lady” who had come to live in the UK from St Lucia. She spent the majority of her life as a nurse in the NHS and retired in 1983.
In a previous hearing, she had been banned from speaking to the press due to concerns that she was not mentally able to cope with the media.
The carers, referred to as ‘C’ and ‘F’, were accused of “emotional and psychological abuse” towards G while living in her house. The local authority accused them of “making [G] change her will in their favour”.
Sitting in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Justice Russell said “little of any substance or detail is known of C’s and F’s background” except that C became a carer for G in 2011 and was soon joined by F.
Ms Justice Russell found C’s evidence “disturbing” due to her belief in a “conspiracy of people” who were “out to get her personally”. The judge added that the evidence was “contradictory, disingenuous and at times seemed to border on the paranoiac”, so it was not accepted.
Despite being described as “an enigma”, F was “quiet and polite” during the hearing. Although there were no complaints made against his behaviour, he still benefitted from living in G’s house. The judge speculated that he “remained passive” during the alleged abuse as he did not want to lose his accommodation.
Conversely, the local authority was judged to be “motivated by their concern for G” and have credible evidence to support their assertions.
Ms Justice Russell ruled in favour of the local authority. She said that, by the standards of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, G was not capable of making decisions on her own. She also ruled that it was not in G’s best interests for C and F to continue as her carers.
The judge then made orders for C and F to remove their belongings and vacate G’s house immediately.
