The mother of a Southport woman who has been in hospital for months because of issues over her community care package funding, fears her daughter may never get out.
Natasha, 27, has a rare progressive neurological disease and needs one-to-one complex care. She is on a waiting list, but has been in hospital for 14 months as the NHS establishes which part of it pays for her care.
Mum Elaine says she is devastated. “It’s inhumane. I feel like she’s not being treated as a person. She’s just an object [to them].”
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside apologised and said their priority was “securing the right care and support for Natasha as quickly as possible”.
Natasha was born with a rare degenerative disorder called Leigh’s Disease, which affects the brain and spinal cord.
She also has GAMT deficiency, which affects brain development and causes epileptic seizures. After those seizures became life threatening 14 months ago she was taken to the specialist Walton Centre, which managed to get them under control.
The family have nothing but praise for the hospital and staff, who they described as “amazing”, but Natasha is now unable to leave.
Mum Elaine said for the past 11 months Natasha had been medically fit to go but she needed a complex care package and it had taken months to find one.
A few weeks ago, the family’s social worker found a specialist placement in Bolton and everything was put in place to transfer Natasha in early June, but last minute funding hitches meant everything had to be paused.
A second attempt was planned for Monday – but, just days before, Elaine was told it was being paused again.