OAP couple could be torn apart and forced to live in separate care homes after 70 years together
Frank Springett, 91, and wife Mary, 86, could be split despite both having serious health problems and not having been apart for almost seven decades
A COUPLE who have been married for 67 years face being separated by social services following a row about their care.
Frank Springett, 91, and wife Mary, 86, could be split by council bosses despite both having serious health problems.
Mary has been diagnosed with severe Alzheimer’s and Frank has arthritis, is deaf and has the muscle condition polymyalgia rheumatica.
The couple had to sell their home in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, to fund their ongoing £8,000-a-month care bills, reports.
But the £156,000 fee they got for the home is now almost depleted, and social services will have to move them into different homes should they come into their care.
This would mean the pair are to be separated from each other for the first time in seven decades.
Daughter Joanne Downes, 57, said: “It would devastate my mother if my father was not with her, and vice versa.
“They are a couple who have been together 70 years, married for 67 years and never, ever spent time apart.
“I cannot and will not accept that they cannot be together.”
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A spokesman for Solihull Council said: “We understand that couples who have been married a long-time often wish to stay together when one of them moves into residential care.
“We respect their right to do so. In some situations people decide to fund themselves, and we do our best to make them and their family aware of the financial implications of this.
“If people’s care needs or financial circumstances change as time passes, we would reassess their situation.
“We would be happy to meet in person with the family to explain things further.”
