Tory Britain today: Couple separated after 70 years because they ‘don’t meet criteria’

Last Updated: November 1, 2016By Tags: , , , , , ,
Jessie and Ray Lorrison have spent the last 70 years together, but have now been told they must live separately [Image: North News and Pictures].

Jessie and Ray Lorrison have spent the last 70 years together, but have now been told they must live separately [Image: North News and Pictures].

The criteria under which Ray and Jessie Lorrison are being separated for what could be the last few months of their respective lives are in the Conservative Government’s Care Act 2014.

The Tories may wish to quibble that the implication of the Act is for local councils to interpret, but it seems likely this is another Tory attempt at penny-pinching, and never mind the human tragedy it causes.

How many more couples are being separated in this entirely unacceptable way?

There is a petition, which you can sign if you visit the Mirror‘s story (the link is below).

But will it do any good if the law is against this couple?

How did we – the British people – ever come to accept such laws as reasonable?

An elderly couple who have been by each other’s side for 70 years are being ‘forced apart’ by social services – as they ‘don’t meet the criteria’ to live together.

Jessie and Ray Lorrison, of South Shields in South Tyneside, have spent nearly every day of their lives together since they first met in 1946 – but have now been told they must live separate lives.

Ray, 95, is living at Westoe Grange Care Home in the town, while his heartbroken wife Jessie, 88, is in hospital after being told she ‘does not meet the criteria’ to join her husband.

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “The Council is not able to comment on individual cases, however any decision on care and support for an individual is based on their own needs and is made in line with the Care Act.

Source: Couple together for 70 years told they ‘don’t meet criteria’ to live together in care home – Mirror Online

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No Comments

  1. jaguarjon November 2, 2016 at 1:20 am - Reply

    The LA has changed its mind. The real question is why these lovely people were put through this anguish in the first place.

    • Mike Sivier November 2, 2016 at 12:56 pm - Reply

      And has the Care Act been amended to ensure nobody else is mistreated in the same way?

  2. Kenneth Billis November 2, 2016 at 2:11 am - Reply

    A note has been added on the petition page saying that this couple will not now be separated. Unfortunately, of course, the Care Act is still there waiting to ensnare others who may well have to undergo the same distress as Mr and Mrs Lorrison

    • Mike Sivier November 2, 2016 at 12:56 pm - Reply

      Just so.
      I did consider taking down the article but you are right – others may be caught the same way.

  3. casalealex November 2, 2016 at 11:12 pm - Reply

    This is not the first case I have heard of….

  4. NMac November 3, 2016 at 9:40 am - Reply

    Another milestone on the way to the return of 19th century Workhouses.

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