The Matilda Principle

Anyway, I am big and you're small 

I am right and you're wrong 

And there's nothing you can do about 

Tameside community (do they) care?

 

After living next to a Community Care /Learning Disability home for over twenty years we have experienced both the best and worst. The first five years were sheer hell, the remaining years being tolerable.

  

 As one of those labelled bigot by both Tameside mbc planning committee, social services and creative support care provider for complaining (after a period of over three weeks) that a resident in the self contained rear flat who wandered from his flat to the main entrance hammering on the door to the degree that it has had to be repaired, shouting for the carers to come out, not only at all times of the night and day, but for periods of up to three hours. I am recovering from major spinal surgery so my wife went round to complain, in the process talking to the carer, she was confronted by the resident, who had soiled himself and smeared it over his body, face and hands.

 

During a subsequent discussion with a manager we were told “that the individual had issues and soiling and covering himself in his own excrement was part of his problem”  basically they would do their best but, “we would have to live with it”

 

We have lived as neighbours to this home for fifteen years in relative harmony and would gladly testify that when due regard/respect is given by those responsible for the development of these properties not only for those entrusted into their care; but also for the wider community that they impact upon, they can and do work successfully.

 

However when faced with circumstances such as these we have no redress with the comments from Tameside social services being deflected as we being the "bad intolerant neighbour".

 

We have asked the question many times and cannot find any councillor, social worker, developer and his agents who actually live next to a property such as this or who have seen and experienced the things I, my wife and three children have.

 

Each at the end of the day is able to go home; but we, who you are so quick to call, when do we go home?

 

It must also be remembered that our case is not an isolated one, but there no systems in place, no forums or discussion groups, whereby neighbours to Community Care can have their say.

 

It is the easy option for those in authority/control to discount any adverse comment as intolerance, to admit that sometimes a wrong decision has been made would not be politically correct; but it is an inescapable fact, that we experience more of the reality of how Community Care really interacts with the community than is actually seen by or reported back to those in the ivory tower.

 

The situation has changed from that where the social services were responsible for the day to day management of community care properties, to one where private companies are taking over the management of the property and then going to the social services and effectively bidding for each resident. Great for the council, but debateable if that can be said for everyone else (including those that should be a the forefront of consideration; the resident himself) the chain of responsibility is stretched further; realistically, what CEO of a care provider company is going to go back to the council and admit they “got it wrong”; contracts worth millions of pounds are given to these "no profit making" companies too much bad press might be bad for business.

 

Adverse comments from neighbours are diluted or phrased in socio-political clichés ticking all the boxes that the listener wishes to hear, but convey no actual information as to the grass routes situation that people live with day in and day out.

No it wasn’t a pleasant experience for my wife, coming face to face with someone covered in excrement, but by the same token it is a situation that had he been given the correct and proper adequate care relating to his needs would not have found himself in.

 

A search of the Web demonstrates that whilst there is an abundance of help for the residents i.e. those in the care of the LA or service provider, in dealing with bad neighbours;  there is complete absence of any help for the "intolerant bigots" next door, infact there does not seem to be any network whereby those who are directly affected by community care, can offer help, support or share experiences with one another. The only conclussion being drawn is that it would not be in the interest of those providing the service if the full and truthfull extent of what living with community care is like, and the real impact it has on peoples lives.

Facebook Page titled A Bigots Tale, or you can email Abigotstale@aol.com