'Lost and frightened': Frail RAF veteran, 96, forced out of care home by council

A Second World War veteran with dementia was forced out of his nursing home during the pandemic when his money ran out after his local council failed to fund part of his care.

John Lambert's daughter claimed Merton Council's treatment of her father had been "scandalous" and said he had never owed any money in his life and had done charity work until he was 90.

Lambert ended up overpaying tens of thousands of pounds for the care he received between May and December 2020, when his local authority should have been contributing to his fees.

Merton Council did not tell his family how much it would pay until August – by which time he was months in arrears and a few weeks away from being served an eviction notice by his care home.

Instead, it repeatedly tried to move him to cheaper care homes, despite being told this would be “very unsettling” and traumatic for him due to his advance age and the fact he would need to isolate for 14 days upon arrival.

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His family also offered to pay the difference.

Lambert joined the RAF in 1942 at the age of 18, serving until the end of the war in the Bomber Coastal Command, flying Lancaster bombers and Sunderland Flying Boats in North Africa, the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

Jane Lambert said the family had felt “lost and frightened” and were “appalled” that the council wanted to move her father, who was frail, could not walk and had fallen four times in one month.

Receiving the eviction notice “was one of the worst days of our lives”, she added.

Lambert lived with his daughter until August 2021, when he moved into a nursing home in Richmond for round-the-clock care, and died last November aged 96.

His family used his remaining savings and state pension to pay off the debt but could not afford to continue paying for his care in full so he moved into his daughter’s flat.

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They brought a case against the council, supported by the RAF Benevolent Fund, and were later refunded more than £45,000 after an ombudsman ruled that the council had breached its duty of care to step in.

Merton Council said it accepted the findings and apologised to the family for the undue stress caused by its errors.

He moved into his private care home in 2017 when he was 93, covering the then £1,400-a-week fees in full from the sale of the family home.

Under the current system, which is being reformed, when residents’ assets fall below £23,250 the council starts contributing to the cost of their care.

In early 2020 Ms Lambert completed forms so the council could assess how much it would start contributing as her father was expected to reach that point in May.

The family were insistent that they would cover any gap between the care home fees and the council’s contribution, with help from the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Instead of setting out how much it would pay, the council decided to move Lambert to a cheaper care home – but did not assess the potential risk in doing so.

The care home also told the council it would be “very unsettling” for him to move, but the council responded saying the home’s fees were too high and it would only pay the “going rate”.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman later ruled that Merton Council had failed to assess Mr Lambert’s needs, the risk of him moving, or agree a budget.

In the ruling last summer, which caused Ms Lambert to burst into tears, it said the council should refund Lambert for the cost of his care, minus his share, apologise to the family and pay £400 for distress and time.