Woman says she feels imprisoned after carer shortage forces her into care home
A woman with cerebral palsy says she feels imprisoned and forgotten after care staff shortages led to her losing her independence.
Anna Trotter, 35, was told she would be moved to a care home for two weeks as a temporary measure. Yet over four months later she is still there.
Anna had been living at home in Redcar with the help of domiciliary carers who visited her four times a day for half an hour each time.
The agency contracted by the NHS to provide the carers found that it was financially unviable, due to the lack of other service users in the area. So until an alternative care package could be found, Anna was moved into a nearby care home.
Anna was told the move into a care home would be temporary
Anna said it is “awful because it sounds like I’m saying I’m in prison – the care home is really great – but I shouldn’t be in here. Mentally it’s really tough”.
She added: “My physical needs are met here, but my mental health is suffering. It makes me anxious, and I am having trouble sleeping as I can’t stop thinking about it.”
Anna believes her situation shows how fragile the system is, and that staffing is a serious problem.
“Because I require two carers, as opposed to one, there just isn’t the staff,” she said.
“However, I was only meant to be here for two weeks. I know how the system works so I pushed for an answer and I was reassured that I would be able to go home.
“At the time, there was no way for me to get this support unless I went into a care home. Whilst I completely understand that domiciliary care is struggling, that doesn’t mean someone should be told they will be in a care home for two weeks and then left for four months.”
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A spokesperson for NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “We work to ensure that people across our region receive the care and support they need, and we understand that it can be very frustrating and worrying if difficulties arise. We are not able to comment on an individual patient’s case publicly but where concerns are raised, we will work hard to resolve the issues as quickly and positively as we can.”
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A spokesperson for Redcar and Cleveland Council said: “Our sympathies are with this lady and we hope her situation may be resolved as soon as possible. Our role as a council regarding continuing healthcare is very limited and only involves transferring payments as instructed by an NHS body.
“Continuing healthcare is arranged and funded solely by the NHS, and as such we have no decision-making role in these situations.”
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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