I want my day in court, says man at centre of care row
By A man served with legal papers from Bristol City Council over unpaid bills for care received by his father at a Shirehampton care home is demanding his day in court.
Steve Norman received a bill from council legal chief Stephen McNamara on November 9 for an unpaid £662.60 bill for residential care services at Kingsmead Lodge.
Kingsmead Lodge: Centre of row over unpaid care
The letter threatened Mr Norman with “court proceedings” if the money was not paid in full within 14 days.
But the family is refusing to pay the outstanding amount due to their protests over alleged neglect they say 84-year-old Kenneth Norman was subjected to at the home.
Police, social services and the Care Quality Commission investigated earlier this year after five former care workers at Kingsmead Lodge – run by Mimosa Healthcare – gave statements on practices that they claimed to have seen at the care home.
No charges were brought as a result of the investigations, but an inquest into the death of one resident will be held.
Speaking to Bristol24-7, Steve Norman said: “I won’t pay the bill until a court tells me to. I was surprised that Mr McNamara took so long to threaten us with legal action. But I want my day in court. We’re all going to get old and we need to rely on services to care for us.
“I believe I was paying for poor care and wasn’t prepared to carry on, so I stopped the direct debit.”
Responding to the council’s letter, Mr Norman stated that he had “signed statements obtained from former employees at Kingsmead Lodge detailing what they had witnessed during the course of their employment” and looked forward to receiving court papers.
His reply from Mr McNamara, in a brief email, stated that the council’s Head of Legal Services “did not know anything about this issue and have referred this to the relevant officer”.
Mr Norman has had his claims regarding the care of his father published on The Bristol Blogger website, but told Bristol24-7 he was furious at the “arrogant and dismissive” investigation into his father’s care – describing it as a “fiasco”.
His father is now a resident at Holmwood House in Westbury-on-Trym.
A spokesman for the city council told the Evening Post on Saturday: “The council takes the welfare of all of those in its care very seriously indeed and we are committed to ensuring all of our services aspire to the highest possible standards.
Mimosa run four care homes in Bristol and all four homes are currently rated adequate or good by the external regulators, the Care Quality Commission.
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