The Court of Protection has ruled that the human rights of a woman with dementia were breached when she was moved from her own home to a care home.
A judge ruled that Milton Keynes Council failed to get proper authorisation and that the handling of the case was “woefully inadequate.”
The local authority alleged that the woman’s son had been neglecting her. However, these allegations were not pursued.
It was held by District Judge Paul Mort, that the council behaved unlawfully when they moved the woman from her own house to a care home because they failed to get authorisation from its own specialist panel and had not applied to the Court of Protection.
The judge also said that the council failed to tell the woman’s son where she was for 19 days and he was then only allowed limited contact whilst the council investigated neglect claims.
The judge concluded the woman had been “unlawfully deprived” of her liberty when removed from her home by the council and her son was “devoted to his mother”. He also said her human right to family life had been breached.
