Mrs Lomas
Mrs Lomas had been married for 60 years and had two sons and two daughters. However, the relationship with her husband had long been difficult and was deteriorating. Over the last few years, her health had worsened, resulting in her requiring more and more help with daily tasks.
Unknown to her, the family decided that she should be moved into a nursing home, but she was told this was a temporary arrangement and none of her personal possessions were moved with her. Once there, Mrs Lomas became very distressed and expressed a wish to go back home. It became apparent that she had the capacity to make her own decisions, but had not been consulted about the move. While in the home, Mrs Lomas was assessed as not needing nursing or residential care, although she was suffering from severe depression.
A safeguarding inquiry was initiated. The family agreed to a Family Group Conference to try to resolve matters. Mrs Lomas accepted the offer of an advocate to support her at the meeting and spent time with her preparing what she wanted to say. Mrs Lomas wrote her own notes about how she felt and what she wanted.
The outcome of the Family Group Conference was that Mr and Mrs Lomas decided to sell their house to enable each to live independently. Mrs Lomas chose a placement in a ‘shared lives’ scheme, which by the time of the Family Group Conference Review (10 weeks later) was considered by everyone to be a great success. Mrs Lomas confirmed that she now had her jewelry and other personal items and was very happy with the new arrangement. The shared lives scheme carers attended the review and confirmed that they all got on very well together, and the intention was that Mrs Lomas would remain with them for the foreseeable future.
A service provider who attended the Family Group Conference commented:
“A massive change to her quality of life. Having her voice heard as an individual - a fantastic service. Everyone involved has been professional yet thoughtful in the process”.
Family Group Conferences provide the opportunity for people to work together with their support network to establish a safe and sustainable way forward.