Beechwood Court
The partner and primary carer of an elderly man, Glen Atkins has written to Brent Council Leader, Muhammed Butt, and local MP, Barry Gardiner, following what she terms a 'profound breach of care' at Sovereign Network Group's Beechwood Court care home in Wembley.
She wrote:
I am writing to you as an elderly carer, deeply distressed and frightened by the repeated safeguarding failures at Beechwood Court that have now endangered my partners life for a second time.
My Partner, Glen Atkins, who has dementia and significant health needs, went missing again on Saturday 22nd of November, due to what appears to be the lack of security and supervision from the carers.
On this occasion, the consequences have been even more severe: he was found in a deteriorated condition and is now in hospital receiving treatment.
This is not only unacceptable but it is a profound breach of care.
Following the first incident, I was assured that measures would be taken to prevent this from ever happening again. Those assurances were clearly not upheld. As his main carer, and as an elderly woman myself, I rely on the council’s systems to keep him safe. Instead, we are now living through the trauma of repeated failures that could have cost him his life.
I am requesting the following immediate actions:
1. A formal investigation into how my partner was able to leave the premises again despite previous alerts and assurances.
2. An urgent review of Beechwood Court’s safeguarding procedures, including door security, staff monitoring, incident reporting, and emergency escalation processes.
3.Immediate support in securing a safer and more appropriate placement for my partner, as I no longer have confidence in the facility’s ability to protect him.
4. A direct meeting or call with a senior safeguarding officer within the council, within the next 7 days.
No family should ever have to go through this once, let alone twice. The physical, emotional and psychological impact on my Partner and on the family is immeasurable. I am asking you personally to intervene, as this situation now represents a systemic and dangerous failure affecting vulnerable adults in your borough.
I look forward to your urgent response.
Patricia Bryan
Barry Gardiner has not yet responded and Muhammed Butt's office has just sent an acknowledgement,
Asif Zamir has written to Cllr Neal Nerva and Brent CEO Kim Wright in support of Patricia Bryan calling for a firmal investigation
My name is Asif Zamir, and I am writing to you formally to request an urgent investigation into the care and safety of Mr. Glen Atkins, currently a resident at Beechwood Court.
I am supporting Mr. Atkins’ partner and primary carer, Patricia Bryan, who has expressed profound distress regarding repeated safeguarding failures. On Saturday, 22nd November, Mr. Atkins—who lives with dementia—went missing from the facility for a second time. He was later found in a severely deteriorated state and is currently hospitalised.
Despite previous assurances following a similar incident, it is clear that the security and supervision protocols at Beechwood Court are insufficient.
I am formally requesting that you initiate a senior-level investigation into this case, specifically addressing:
The systemic failure of security measures that allowed a vulnerable resident to go missing twice.
The breach of previous safeguarding agreements made with the family.
An immediate review of the facility's fitness to provide care for residents with complex dementia.
To the Ward Councillors (Cc’d): I am copying you into this correspondence to formally request that you raise Member Enquiries on behalf of Patricia Bryan and Glen Atkins. We require your support to ensure transparency, accountability, and an urgent resolution to ensure Mr. Atkins is moved to a safer, more appropriate placement upon his discharge from the hospital.
Given the severity of this situation and the fact that a vulnerable resident’s life has been endangered, I look forward to your acknowledgment of this email within 24 hours and a detailed response regarding the investigation steps.
Wembley Matters sough further information about the context of Mr Atkins' going missing from the care home. Asif Zamir said:
It's alleged that CCTV was not working at Beechwood house. Mr Atkins had been missing for approx 7.5 hrs. A contributing factor on the delay in finding him was that the staff allegedly could not pin an exact time of when he had disappeared or the events leading up to his disappearance.When he returned he was out in bad weather and returned with wet clothes. The staff took him to the communal area and left him there unsupervised even though he was already disorientated.Had the staff carried out their duty and provided accurate statements, there is a chance Mr Atkins could have been found earlier and prevented harm to him. There is a chain of failings.He is in poor health in hospital; Beechwood Court have effectively evicted him whilst he is in hospital as they cannot meet his needs. The local authority must carry out their duty in helping find him a new home that meets his needs.
A Stage 1 complaint was made to SNG on behalf of Mr Atkins and and investigation undertaken. This consists of a catalogue of many issues with the entrance door and a suggestin that he exited after the door was made insecure during a power outage, The conclusion has a sting in the tail:
My Decision
I am not upholding the complaint on the grounds of service failure. However, I want to be clear that this does not diminish the seriousness of the incident or the distress it caused. I fully acknowledge the impact this has had on Mr Atkins, including the deterioration in his condition and the concerns raised by Beechwood staff and social workers.
I would like to extend a further apology to you for the delay with your response. I wanted to ensure I had full scope of the situation at hand as well as tangible information/ updates to provide before responding to you. With that being said, I understand how important timely communication is and regret any additional frustration this may have caused. To compensate for this delay and in line with our policy, I will be awarding you £20 for delayed response. In line with our policy this will be credited to your rent/service charge account and visible on your statement within the next 28 days.
