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LEEDS, England / Yorkshire Post / July 31, 2009
By Alexandra Wood
RELATIVES of 11 elderly people at a Hull care home pledged to fight on yesterday despite losing the latest round of their marathon battle to keep it open.
Campaigners for Rokeby House at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. File photo September 2008.
Rokeby House resident and former city councillor Hilda Milsom, 89, was among campaigners at a meeting of Hull Council's cabinet which reconfirmed its decision to close the council-owned home.
An injunction by the residents' solicitor
Yvonne Hossack failed to stop the meeting going ahead. The two sides will once again be in court in September when a judge will decide whether to allow a judicial review to go ahead, further delaying any closure.
Ms Hossack was also in Hull yesterday, having cancelled a mammogram for a suspicious breast lump in the hope she would be allowed to speak, but was refused. She said: "I tried to stop them holding this meeting because it was causing such distress to Hilda and Harry (Glentworth, a Dunkirk veteran also resident at the home). What is crystal clear is no expert is saying the risk (of moving the residents) can be eradicated. Every expert is saying there is a risk."
Labour councillor Mary Glew said: "This is a savage and cruel attack on elderly people. They talk about their fail-safe policies but I don't think they are fail-safe. I definitely feel people will die prematurely if they are moved."
The residents' latest legal challenge is based on new assessments by Professor Cornelius Katona, a consultant psychiatrist, which conclude "that on balance of probabilities some will die prematurely despite best efforts at preparing them for a move." But the council's expert, consultant psychiatrist Dr Sean Lennon, did not believe any of the risks were of an unacceptable level.
In a statement Hull Council said: "The council has always broached the decision-making about the closure of Rokeby with great care, with the well-being of the residents being the prime concern.
"Further medical assessments have been carried out and this information, along with additional medical views from legal representatives of some residents, was very carefully considered. Cabinet also considered medical opinion on the quality of care plans and policies for any move from one care setting to another. We will now continue to make preparations for the future." [
rc]
© 2009 Johnston Press Digital Publishing
Campaigners for Rokeby House at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. File photo September 2008.
Rokeby House resident and former city councillor Hilda Milsom, 89, was among campaigners at a meeting of Hull Council's cabinet which reconfirmed its decision to close the council-owned home.
An injunction by the residents' solicitor Yvonne Hossack failed to stop the meeting going ahead. The two sides will once again be in court in September when a judge will decide whether to allow a judicial review to go ahead, further delaying any closure.
Ms Hossack was also in Hull yesterday, having cancelled a mammogram for a suspicious breast lump in the hope she would be allowed to speak, but was refused. She said: "I tried to stop them holding this meeting because it was causing such distress to Hilda and Harry (Glentworth, a Dunkirk veteran also resident at the home). What is crystal clear is no expert is saying the risk (of moving the residents) can be eradicated. Every expert is saying there is a risk."
Labour councillor Mary Glew said: "This is a savage and cruel attack on elderly people. They talk about their fail-safe policies but I don't think they are fail-safe. I definitely feel people will die prematurely if they are moved."
The residents' latest legal challenge is based on new assessments by Professor Cornelius Katona, a consultant psychiatrist, which conclude "that on balance of probabilities some will die prematurely despite best efforts at preparing them for a move." But the council's expert, consultant psychiatrist Dr Sean Lennon, did not believe any of the risks were of an unacceptable level.
In a statement Hull Council said: "The council has always broached the decision-making about the closure of Rokeby with great care, with the well-being of the residents being the prime concern.
"Further medical assessments have been carried out and this information, along with additional medical views from legal representatives of some residents, was very carefully considered. Cabinet also considered medical opinion on the quality of care plans and policies for any move from one care setting to another. We will now continue to make preparations for the future." [rc]
© 2009 Johnston Press Digital Publishing
