Apology after abuse claims uncovered by widow

A WIDOW who uncovered “vindictive” comments claiming she may have abused her late husband has received an apology from Cornwall Council.

It follows a three-year ordeal for Pat Jowsey, 70, of Coosebean, Truro, whose husband was unlawfully detained by the former county council in 2007 and then assaulted by a male nurse at the privately-run care home.

Mrs Jowsey lodged a Freedom of Information (FoI) Act request in relation to meetings held by the council’s adult social care department to discuss her husband’s future care plan, but to which she and her husband had not been invited.

Mrs Jowsey said: “In the information I received due to the FoI request it was noted that ‘Mrs Jowsey would be shocked if she knew what was discussed at these meetings’, and how right that was.”

The minutes, seen by the West Briton, stated the couple’s marriage was “abusive” and that Mr Jowsey had been “at risk of emotional, physical, and financial abuse” at her hands.

She made a formal complaint to the council in November. An independent review upheld her complaints about minutes of the meetings containing untrue statements and the process of guardianship not being fully explained. It confirmed staff would in future provide greater clarity to families on the process of guardianship.

A council spokesman said: “We fully accept the findings of the independent review team into the complaints made by Mrs Jowsey and apologise for any distress caused by our actions.”

Mrs Jowsey’s ordeal began in August 2007 when her husband Kenneth, who suffered mild dementia and severe anxiety, moved into the Tregenna House nursing home, Camborne.

In September that year he was detained by the then Cornwall County Council under the Mental Health Act and it was later made his guardian.

Mr Jowsey was then assaulted by a male nurse at the home who later received a caution from police. Mr Jowsey was eventually moved to Longreach House, Redruth.

Mrs Jowsey said: “It was after the attack that my husband really began to deteriorate. We appealed the guardianship order in November 2007 – we had been married for 48 years and he wanted to come home and I wanted to help him.”

Mrs Jowsey took legal advice and in January 2008 was told the council would discharge the guardianship order.

The couple eventually won a claim for damages from the council for the deprivation of Mr Jowsey’s liberty about a month before he died of pneumonia, in October 2008.

A Cornwall Council spokesman added that the former county council had originally carried out an investigation into the case in 2008.

As a result it amended its procedures to ensure processes under the Mental Health Act were explained fully to avoid any confusion as to the rights of people subject to guardianship.

Mrs Jowsey said: “I worshipped my husband and I feel drained and sad that Ken had to go through this. He didn’t deserve it.”