Woman claims home carers neglected "very thin" father

A woman is hitting out at a London home care company for "neglect" after finding her father looking "like he had been caged for years".

Cindy Peirce says after years of lost contact with her father, she found him "very thin" and struggling to walk due to "ulcers and sores on his feet".

Ms Peirce believes Mayfair Homecare, which has provided care on behalf of Merton Council, is to blame.

Mayfair says it delivered the care package set out by the council.

Mr Peirce has given BBC London permission to tell his story.

Warning: graphic image

Ms Peirce 38, from Crawley in West Sussex, said her father Jeremy Peirce, 71, from Mitcham in south-west London, used to call her every day but they fell out of touch in 2014 when he stopped calling her and she struggled to reach him again.

Neighbours later told Ms Peirce her father was admitted to hospital early in 2015 and had needed help around the home ever since.

She was able to track her father down again after a period of being estranged, leading to a visit on Christmas Eve.

"We got him to open the door because he thought we were the carers, but my heart broke there and then - it looked like he had been caged for years," she said.

Ms Peirce explained her father has lost a large amount of weight, has long, unkempt hair, cannot hear in one ear due to an infection, and has fingernails which are so overgrown they have curled under.

"He stutters now and is so fragile. I can't hug him; he's very thin," she said.

Ms Peirce added that her father "needs support walking" because his feet have not been cared for either.

"He keeps saying he's fine but his home is freezing, he has holes in his clothes and has ulcers and sores on his feet."

She continued: "All the food in his fridge is expired - there was milk in the fridge from 2022. He can't even prepare a meal because of his nails."

Mr Peirce has been provided with care by Mayfair Homecare on behalf of Merton Council.

Ms Peirce said he told her that when carers visit, they tell him to wash himself, buy him microwave meals and then leave again.

"But he cannot use his right arm due to a truck accident years ago in South Africa. He says trying to get into the bath and wash himself is so painful."

Since finding her father in his current state, Ms Peirce has arranged for a GP to check on him, complained to Mayfair and submitted a report of neglect to Merton Council, but seeing her father this way has "messed her up mentally" and she "is all over the place".

She added she met a social worker and the manager of Mayfair Homecare on 5 January, but is not confident things will improve and cannot understand why carers did not refer her father for extra checks or care, knowing his condition.

"They put my dad into this situation. The so-called caring... there's been none of that."

Ms Peirce said Merton Council encouraged her to put her father's previous treatment "in the past and let's move forward", also telling her it was now her responsibility to find someone to cut his hair and nails.

A Merton Council spokesperson confirmed it was aware of Mr Peirce's case but "cannot comment on individual cases, particularly where there are safeguarding concerns, raised directly or indirectly with the local authority".

"We take seriously all safeguarding of individuals and the quality assurance of our third-party providers of care and support, and will work with the family to investigate the matters fully," they said.

Since the BBC contacted Merton Council, Mayfair Homecare said it was no longer providing Mr Peirce's care - but the council declined to comment on this development.

Mayfair said it took the allegations by Ms Peirce seriously, adding that "the health, safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our top priority".

"We are currently undertaking an investigation in conjunction with the local authority to establish the full situation," a spokesperson said.

"However, we can say that whilst Mr Peirce was in our care, we delivered the care package that was set out by the local authority."

They added Mr Peirce and his family would be "kept updated as the investigation progresses".

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