A safeguarding review is under way after a vulnerable 25-year-old tenant from Brighton and Hove died after being placed out of the area.
Councillors were told that he died during a period when no welfare checks were carried out – for more than a month – because of staff leave, with no cover provided.
The lack of cover came just months after Brighton and Hove City Council stopped using Kendal Court, in Newhaven, where at least 10 people died and similar concerns had been raised.
A senior member of East Sussex County Council even accused Brighton and Hove City Council of outsourcing vulnerable people to die – and the county council threatened legal action.
A safeguarding review is under way into the 25-year-old man’s death, councillors were told at a meeting of the full council at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (1 February).
It followed a deputation of family and friends led by Clare Whitworth who painted a bleak picture of someone cut adrift almost 30 miles away from their support network
She said that vulnerable people in temporary housing away from Brighton and Hove need someone to keep an eye on them.
She asked the council to appoint a lead person for vulnerable people to make sure that the various agencies who should look out for those people were working together properly.
Councillors applauded Ms Whitworth after she made her comments as a “bereaved family member”.
Care leavers, abuse survivors, people with mental health problems and drink and drug addicts had been housed in Eastbourne and should have had weekly wellbeing checks, Ms Whitworth told the meeting.
But from Wednesday 7 December 2022 to Wednesday 11 January 2023, no wellbeing visits took place because staff were on leave, with no one covering their absence.
And during this period, the 25-year-old man in temporary housing died.
Ms Whitworth said that while housing provided somewhere to live, it did not meet all the basic needs that people had.
She said that 40 residents had to share just one microwave to cook, spurring people to buy expensive prepared food.
There was no washing machine in the Eastbourne housing, leaving people with nowhere to wash clothes and bedding.
Moving to Eastbourne also meant that people were discharged from their Brighton and Hove GP.
And, Ms Whitworth said, there was no training on how to treat bereaved families when a loved one died and their rooms needed to be made available.
She said: “To receive a phone call within 24 hours of a devastating, shocking death of a 25-year-old we will never get back – however much I speak up, he’s never going to come back – to be told his things are going to be removed from that room without giving families the choice – we pushed for it – to remove the few belongings and dignity that person left, is heartless.
“I don’t know what the timescale should be – but more than 24 hours.”
Labour councillor Tristram Burden, who chairs the council’s Adult Social Care and Public Health Sub-committee said that a referral had been received by the Safeguarding Adults Board last February.
Councillor Burden said: “Your concerns are heard by the safeguarding partnership of Brighton and Hove and we will work together to learn from the review which is being completed independently.
“Safeguarding adult reviews provide a vital opportunity to improve how agencies work together, sharing what we learn and ultimately enhancing how we safeguard adults at risk of abuse and neglect.”
He offered to keep in touch with Ms Whitworth on what was learnt and what could be done to improve the council’s policies and procedures.
This was a terrible and unnessary death, vulnerable people in any community deserve the help and support they need, more support services should be put in place with the proper help and advice available from properly trained staff, vulnerable youngsters should not be placed outside of area cutting them off from all support, i.e. doctor, social care, group meetings. Temporary accommodation should be a supported environment with adequate facilities available, not an old building not fit for purpose.
What was the cause of death?
‘Councillors were told that he died during a period when no welfare checks were carried out – for more than a month – because of staff leave, with no cover provided.’ – Anyone who works in this sector knows the welfare team are not fit for purpose, every homeless person I speak to says the same, they never hear from them. The officers exist but are rarely heard from or seen…
Can the administration confirm if the job cuts include this welfare team?
We need more families of people who passed away whilst living in a homeless accommodation locally to come forward to support this other family and get justice for the 100’s who have died in the last three years alone in Brighton and Hove.
Very brave person for coming forward.
Well said. These housing teams are only concerned with budgets, how to save money and their own jobs. People’s lives are meaningless.
You are correct.
The situation is awful Brighton council try to get rid of people who need help and few care.
Years working in this field pr exercise, keep their jobs and get funding.
Little sadly goes to the most in need council give massive funds to Catholic charities, YMCA church of England and criminal people claim to house and support.
My experience of these Angels is very rare
God bless 🙏
Hi, my son 39 was placed in savoy Eastbourne from Worthing council homeless unit 30th June 2023 he died 27.7 2023. Inquest to take place. There is something not right with this ,
This is extremely sad.
Daniel, what are your views on hostels in Brighton?
In my view st Dunstan’s should have been bought by the council and used to house venerable people with addiction. Get them out of the city centre and somewhere they may actually be able to make a fresh start.
The YMCA in north road should be shut down.
This whole sending people to other towns business, is pretty disgusting when you think about it.
Dealt with a lot of people with addiction over the years, and I believe there is some merit to dispersal away from environmental and social pressures. Subjectively, I’ve seen it work for some people, and others they fall back into the same pitfalls.
Centralisation of services within the city centre does seem to be causing a wide variety of issues, according to the police and business forum I attended a few months back. The experiences shared there did seem to suggest that your idea, of spreading the services, may provide less intensive ASB.
Certainly would make for an interesting case study to determine either way.
Kendall Court is notorious for housing high-risk behaviours individuals.
Regardless, welfare checks are an important aspect to keep these people as safe as possible, to highlight declines in health, mental health, increasing high-risk behaviours, and emergency interventions such as Naloxone.
To not have these in place for a month in a place like Kendall Court is very concerning to me on a professional level.