How a vulnerable man was failed by his carer – and what it says about a system at breaking point
Ben watched nervously as the carer led his vulnerable brother Simon out of their flat and onto the busy London street.
The short walk to the coffee shop was a highlight of Simon’s day and it was the carer’s job to make sure he enjoyed his usual hot chocolate and a warm brownie safely.
Simon, not his real name, is 28 and autistic. He also has epilepsy and psychosis. He cannot do anything for himself and has no sense of danger.
The brothers have forged a strong bond ever since their mother died of cancer in 2020, but Ben’s life has been on hold ever since.
He has had to quit his career in finance to look after Simon’s every need; washing, clothing, feeding him. Making sure he is safe.
And as the front door swung closed, Ben texted the carer one more time, to be on the safe side.
“Make sure to always stay close to him, especially when crossing the street,” he wrote.
The double tick of the WhatsApp message turned blue and the carer started typing. “Okay,” he replied.
But it would not be okay.
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Health secretary challenged by Sky News over social care
The person Ben had entrusted with his brother, the person whose job it was to care for him, failed him that day.
This is the story of what happened to Simon and what it might tell us about a social care industry in crisis, where councils are struggling to cope with demand – overspending by millions of pounds each year – and where the race to make savings could be putting vulnerable people at risk.
“There was knock on the door. Quite a frantic knock,” said Ben, recounting the events of that day in May.
“I went downstairs and realised it was Simon. He was sweating, huffing and puffing. Really upset. I looked into his eyes and could see that he was in a kind of sensory overload. I knew something was wrong.”
Simon walked home alone and arrived looking ‘really upset’, his brother says
The carer was nowhere to be seen.
Simon, who should never be left alone, was right there on the doorstep. Alone.
Ben picked up his phone and messaged the carer. There was no reply. Then a few minutes later, the phone rang. It was the carer, sounding in a panic.
“Hello,” said Ben.
“I’m having an issue,” the carer said. “I went to the loo and asked him [Simon] to sit down and wait for me to come back.”
Ben could not believe what he was hearing. The carer had left Simon on his own in a busy coffee shop.
The carer continued: “I’ve searched everywhere.”
Ben said his brother wandered off when he realised no-one was with him. He left the coffee shop and turned onto the busy street.
Now completely alone, he crossed a busy road, with cars and buses all around him.
Then he walked alone for 15 minutes until he reached home.
Ben had so many questions, but in the months ahead he would struggle to get answers from the council and the care agency that supplied the carer.
Ben has struggled to get answers from the council and care provider
Back in March 2024, Ben was told he could have a carer for 25 hours per week to help shoulder the pressure of looking after his brother.
His local authority, Camden Council, paid a provider called Hartwig Care.
Both Camden Council and Hartwig knew how vulnerable Simon was. It was all set out in a series of reports outlining his needs.
‘He could have been killed’
The first report was written by a social worker at the council, clearly stating Simon has “no road safety awareness and is at risk of wandering into the road if left unsupervised”.
The second report, written by a consultant neurologist, added: “Due to his cognitive disability, autism and epilepsy, he is not able to be alone without supervision.”
But on 1 May, the day the pair walked into the coffee shop, the carer sat Simon down and told him to stay where he was.
He then left him alone to go to the toilet, but when he returned Simon was nowhere to be seen.
It was a serious incident that Ben believes could have led to injury or even the death of his brother and calls into question the judgement and experience of the carer, who was costing the council £150 per day.
“The council said they would have to do an investigation. But I heard nothing back from the council,” said Ben.
The council apologised and says it did a safeguarding review over the incident. Pic: iStock
A spokesperson for Camden Council said: “We would like to apologise to the resident and their family for the distress that this incident caused.
“Following this happening, we immediately began a safeguarding review with Hartwig to understand exactly what had happened and what they would do to ensure an incident like this does not happen in the future.”
Ben says: “The quality of care did not match the price that that they charged. And it just speaks to the greater issue about care in this country.”
A spokesperson for Hartwig Care said: “Due to client confidentiality, it is our policy not to provide comments on specific incidents involving our service users.
“However, we want to emphasise that client safety is always paramount in our service provision.”
Providers struggling to cope
Social care is at breaking point. Any council or care provider will tell you that.
The government knows it, which is why they have said they will reform social care and introduce a new National Care Service.
But the timetable for reform is unclear, despite councils appealing for more funding.
A staggering 81% of councils say they expect to overspend on their adult social care budgets this year, following a poll carried out by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care Services.
Nearly half (48%) of homecare providers say they cannot cope with current demand on services, according to the Homecare Association.
This could go some way to explain why complaints about adult social care, to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, have risen by a fifth since 2013.
Care minister Stephen Kinnock says reforming social care will not be a quick process
Care minister Stephen Kinnock addressed delegates at the annual Children and Adult Social Care Conference in Liverpool recently.
He said the government was committed to reforming social care, but warned: “I’m not going to promise that change can be delivered overnight.”
The government knows social care reform will cost billions not millions at a time when public finances are in a fragile state.
Mr Kinnock told Sky News: “When we won the general election on the 4th of July, we inherited the worst fiscal environment since the Second World War. And so action has to be taken to get the public finances onto a stable footing.”
I suggested the government didn’t have the money to deliver on its promise to reform social care.
He said: “Until we fix the public finances we are not going to be in a position to invest properly in our public services. We’ve got to take it one step at a time.”
Government plans ‘unrealistic’
Melanie Williams, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care, described the government’s plan as “unrealistic” but said she remains “hopeful”.
She said the chancellor’s plan to hike national insurance contributions for employers would cost the social care sector and estimated £1.8bn.
“Providers have told us that they’re considering handing back services and some are saying they may have to exit the business,” she said.
Melanie Williams says some care providers might be forced to quit the industry
“We know that reform will be expensive and require a long-term investment over time. But we need to make those small investments to get there.
“It is a big concern that there are so many priorities for government to face that they won’t be able to afford the changes.”
Read more from Sky News:
The bizarre story of a fake carer
Social care services for thousands ‘under threat’
Camden Council and Hartwig Care investigated the incident with Simon, but his brother Ben was not given a copy of the findings.
The council said the report had not been published online because the incident was “not serious enough”.
In August, Ben enlisted the help of a pro bono lawyer through a local disability charity who lodged a formal complaint with the council over its handling of the incident.
The council replied on 28 August and rejected the complaint, saying “the issues you have raised fall outside of our formal complaints process”.
Ben has been left with more questions than answers.
“I just want to know what happened and have confidence in knowing that it cannot happen again,” he says. “But I have been kept totally in the dark.”
UK
Parents of boy whose outbursts left them fearing for their lives say Adolescence ‘touched a nerve’
A teenager suddenly becomes violent, his anger towards women fuelled by online influencers, while his parents struggle to process what their son is capable of.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s the story of the hit drama Adolescence – but for Jess and Rob, it’s their life.
Their 14-year-old son Harry’s violence has escalated so rapidly he’s had to be taken into care. We’ve changed all their names to protect their identities.
Until the age of 12, Harry’s parents say he was a “wonderful” son. But they saw a change in his personality, which they believe was sparked by an incident when he was hit by a girl. Soon, he developed an online interest in masculine power and control.
Harry’s personality changed after he was assaulted (this image shows an actor in a Sky News reconstruction)
“Harry became obsessed with being strong, and I think he developed a difficulty around certain female people because of the assault,” Jess says.
“He had to be in charge… in every setting,” Rob adds.
Then one night, he punched his mother, Jess. His parents called the police in the hope it would shock him out of doing it again. But, as time went on, the violence escalated.
“We probably must have called the police over 100 times,” Rob says.
One attack was so serious, Jess ended up in hospital. The violence spilled outside the home too as Harry assaulted neighbours and friends.
Then he threatened to stab a teacher.
“Every time we think it can’t get any worse, something else happens and it does get worse,” Rob says. “Unfortunately, him getting hold of a knife is quite likely to happen.”
They say Adolescence, which stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Owen Cooper, touched a nerve.
Jess and Rob say they called the police 100 times (this image shows actors in a Sky News reconstruction)
“My worst fear is that he’s going to end up killing one of us,” says Jess. “If not us, then somebody else…”
It’s a shocking thought for any parent to have. As well as contacting police, the family have tried many times to get help from social services and the NHS for Harry’s deteriorating mental health.
“We’ve been told that we’re using too many resources and accessing too many services,” Rob says. “We tried for 18 months to get him more intensive therapeutic help. At every turn it was ‘no, no, no’.”
Read more:
Starmer backs campaign to show Adolescence in schools
Inside the online gangs where boys compete to be cruel
They have found help with an organisation called PEGS that supports parents who are victims of their own children’s violence.
PEGS founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously
Last year it was contacted by over 3,500 families, a 70% increase on 2023. Founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously.
“What we’re hearing time and time again is that referrals are not being picked up because thresholds aren’t being met and perhaps the parent or caregiver isn’t a risk to the child,” she says. “Families are falling through gaps.”
In some parts of the country, local organisations are attempting to fill those gaps. Bright Star Boxing Academy in Shropshire has children referred by schools, social workers and even the police.
Joe Lockley, who runs the academy, says the problem is services that deal with youth violence are “inundated”.
“The biggest cause of the violent behaviour is mental health,” he says. “They lack that sense of belonging and control, and it’s quite easy to gain that from the wrong crowd and getting involved in violence.
“Social media is having a huge impact, especially around that young person’s identity.”
Ethan at the Bright Star Boxing Academy
Ethan, 18, agrees. He joined the academy aged 14. By then he had already been arrested several times for getting into fights.
He believes bullying sparked anxiety and depression. “Someone could look at me, I’d be angry,” he says.
“Social media – that’s definitely a massive part. You’ve got so many people that are living this material life. They’ve got loads of money.
“My main thing was seeing people with amazing bodies – I felt I couldn’t reach that point and it made me self-conscious, which would add on to the anger which then turned to hatred towards other people.”
Ethan says boxing has helped him turn his life around
Without the support of the boxing academy, he believes, he wouldn’t have been able to turn his life around.
“I would either be in prison or I would have done something a lot worse to myself,” he says.
“It’s just this massive mess in your head where you’ve got a million thoughts at once – you don’t know what to think or how to even speak sometimes,” he adds.
“All we need is someone that’s got the time for us… and the understanding that it’s a war in our heads.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We have seen too many preventable tragedies caused by the failings of mental health services, and it’s unacceptable that young people have not been getting the care and treatment they need to keep them, their families and the wider public safe.
“We are working to ensure children and their families get that help. We are investing over £50m to fund specialist support in schools, launching a Young Futures hub in every community, and providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
A plastic surgeon has been found guilty of the attempted murder of a fellow doctor who he stabbed after a failed attempt to set his house on fire.
Peter Brooks had cycled to the home of Graeme Perks in Halam, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, while wearing camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, petrol, matches and a knife in the early hours of 14 January 2021.
The 61-year-old then doused the ground floor of the property with petrol before stabbing fellow plastic surgeon Mr Perks because he wanted him “out of the way”, his trial at Loughborough Courthouse heard.
The victim’s wife and children were sleeping at the time of the attack, the jury was told.
Mr Perks, a consultant plastic surgeon, had provided evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who faced potentially losing his job with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the jury was told.
Brooks was “voluntarily absent” from his month-long trial because he was on hunger strike and said he would “rather be dead than incarcerated”, it can now be reported.
He also sacked his lawyers before the trial and was unrepresented in the case.
Graeme Perks is fighting for his life in hospital. Pic: BAPRAS
When opening the prosecution’s case, Tracy Ayling KC had told the jury it was “clear that the defendant hated Graeme Perks” and wanted him “out of the way”.
Mr Perks, who was 65 at the time, had retired the month before the attack and suffered “extremely life-threatening” injuries to his liver, intestines and pancreas, and was given a 95% chance of death, the court was told.
He had woken up on the night of the attack when Brooks smashed through his conservatory, the jury heard.
The camouflage suit worn by Peter Brooks during the attack. Pic Nottinghamshire Police
Mr Perks then went downstairs where his feet “felt a bit damp” from the petrol, which Brooks had also thrown against the wall next to the stairs, before he felt a “blow to his body”, the court was told.
Brooks was later found asleep on a garden bench later that morning when he was taken to hospital for injuries to his hand, and was arrested.
His blood was found on a door at the scene of the attack.
Brooks has been convicted of two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life, and possession of a knife in a public place.
Jurors deliberated for more than 12 hours before finding Brooks guilty of all the charges against him.
Graeme Perks leaves court in Loughborough after giving evidence.
Pic: PA
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