'Shameful' Ruling Over Ex-Ballet Star's Care

A former ballerina who suffered a stroke has lost her court battle for an overnight carer.

Elaine McDonald had argued the care package she receives from her council should include help at night so she could use a commode.

But the Supreme Court disagreed, with the judges ruling 4-1 in favour of the Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The council said Ms McDonald, who was once a star of Scottish Ballet and received the OBE in 1983, should use incontinence pads or absorbent sheets at night.

It claimed this would reduce the risk of the 68-year-old being hurt using a commode, provide independence and privacy and cut the cost of her care by £22,000 a year.

Ms McDonald said she was "appalled" at the thought of being "treated as incontinent" and considered the use of incontinence pads an "intolerable affront to her dignity".

Campaign group Age UK described the Supreme Court's decision as "shameful".

Charity director Michelle Mitchell said: "Older people have a fundamental right to dignity and forcing someone to sleep in their own urine and faeces could not be more undignified.

"This judgment opens the door to warehousing older people in their own homes without regard to their quality of life.

"Care should not be just about keeping people safe. It must enable them to live dignified and fulfilled lives."

Lady Hale, the one judge who would have allowed the appeal, said she was "troubled" by the implications of the decision.

In her written analysis, she told of her fears that older people "might be left lying in faeces" because local authorities would be entitled to withdraw help.

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