Brenda Miles was given just two days’ notice to leave
A 98-year-old widow suffering from dementia has been evicted after spending her £240,000 life savings on care bills and running out of money. Brenda Miles was given just two days’ notice to leave Innage Grange care home in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where she had resided for five years.
The retired book-binder, who struggles with mobility issues, requires constant care. Brenda, childless, moved into Innage Grange in 2020 following the death of her husband Gordon in 2018. The sale of their two-bedroom bungalow in Bridgnorth, along with her savings, amounted to around £240,000. She used this money to cover care bills of approximately £4,000 per month – equivalent to £48,000 annually.
However, Brenda, who celebrated her 98th birthday with a tea party at the home in August, is now running low on funds and can’t afford the care costs. Her savings have fallen below the £23,000 threshold where state assistance can be requested.
The family sought financial aid from Shropshire Council to allow her to stay in Innage Grange for her remaining days. But officials declined, stating that the care costs are too high for the council to cover and insisted she move to a more affordable home.
On October 31, the council relocated her to Hilton Brook House in Bridgnorth, which charges around £2,400 per month. Brenda’s niece Victoria Fellows has criticised the council, accusing them of “dumping” her aunt.
Victoria, a 41-yea- old Isle of Wight resident expressed her dismay: “The whole situation is just plain wrong. How can you put a 98-year-old through so much upheaval?
“I was told when she was dropped off at the new home she asked ‘where are all my friends?’ It’s just heartbreaking. They didn’t even move all her belongings into Hilton Brook House. She still has pictures on the wall back in her old room.”
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Brenda was forced to leave the home she loved and the staff she adored when her savings fell below the £23,000 threshold for self-funded care. Victoria, who has been managing her aunt’s care with her cousins, revealed: “I contacted the council in July and they said at the end of September that they wouldn’t be covering the costs.
“They gave us two weeks to act and then two days’ notice. It is not as if Shropshire Council will be paying her rent for 40 years – she is 98. It’s disgusting that they’d treat a 98-year-old woman like that. As far as I can tell they sent a taxi, picked up an old lady and dumped her.”
The family reached out to South Shropshire MP Stuart Anderson in hopes of getting the council to conduct a review, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Victoria, who works in data annotation, stated that the care home where Brenda now resides does not meet her aunt’s needs.
She explained: “The room isn’t an ensuite which is hardly handy for a 98-year-old with dementia. She’s mobile with her walking frame, but she’s not sprightly.
“My other cousin has been inside and says the staff are very nice but my aunt was really settled at Innage Grange. The upheaval of moving for her is very upsetting for someone who has always worked and lived her whole life to be treated like this is just not right.
“Other than her named social worker, I’ve heard nothing from anyone higher up. No apology, no real explanation.”
A representative for Shropshire Council declined to comment on individual cases.