“Give my dying mother the care she needs” says Brentwood woman

A family is fighting for care to be provided for their terminally ill mother, after her funding was withdrawn. Ivy Treasurer, 85, has an inoperable, malignant brain tumour. She has lost the use of her legs, needs help to move around in bed, is doubly incontinent, suffers memory impairment and needs to have her food cut up for her.

Her care was being paid for under the NHS’s continuing healthcare scheme, as it was found she needed 24-hour help after her initial diagnosis in August last year.

But under a recent reassessment her funding has been withdrawn.

Her daughter Kim Smith, who lives in Brentwood, said: “The NHS say that mum is no longer terminal because her needs on the day they saw her could be met by unqualified carers.

“This illness has robbed mum of her mental faculties, her dignity and her quality of life. She is just existing, not living, and can only be made comfortable until the inevitable happens.”

Ivy, a former dressmaker whose husband Roy died aged 61 in 1986, is in Alexander Court nursing home, Dagenham, as she cannot live independently at home.

Mrs Smith said: “They said if mum’s condition gets worse we can apply to have her reassessed. My brother and I should be spending quality time with mum over the short period she has left – not directing all our energy into this stressful battle.”

Mrs Smith estimates the family will have to find �400-�500 a week to pay for her mum’s care if the funding is not restored.

NHS ONEL, which commissions healthcare services in the area, said it was unable to comment on individual cases. But a spokesman said screening for the funding was done using a checklist, and depending on a person’s needs a full assessment could be carried out on one day or over a number of days.

Patients are reassessed three months after being deemed eligible for the funding and then annually.

All individuals have the right to appeal an eligibility decision.