- Islander Steve Quinn suffers from multiple sclerosis and wants to return to native Scotland
- But neither Jersey or Scotland will agree to pay for his healthcare if he moves
- Mr Quinn, who is a resident of the Jersey Cheshire Home, is ‘severely stressed’ over situation
- Should Jersey pay for him if he moves to Scotland? Take our poll below
A SERIOUSLY ill Jerseyman who wants to transfer to a care home in Scotland is suffering ‘increasingly severe distress’ because of a stand-off over who should pay for his care, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
Amy Bowen, a director of the UK charity, has written to the Jersey Health Minister Andrew Green and his Scottish counterpart Shona Robison to complain about the treatment of MS patient Steve Quinn.
In her letter, which has been passed to the JEP, she also told both authorities that urgent intervention is required to resolve his ‘unacceptable’ situation.
Mr Quinn (57), who is Jersey-born and resident in the Jersey Cheshire Home, has wanted to move to Ayrshire to be near his family for over a year.
But he has been left frustrated as both Jersey’s Social Security Department and Scottish authorities have refused to fund his long-term care should he move.
In her letters Ms Bowen said: ‘Mr Quinn’s health is increasingly frail. There is a considerable risk that the last phase of his life will be spent away from his family all because of a wrangle over his care costs.
‘The family have been doggedly trying to get agreement from either or both sets of authorities about the care costs to no avail.
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a condition of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls the body’s actions and activities, such as movement and balance.
- Each nerve fibre in the central nervous system is surrounded by a substance called myelin. Myelin helps the messages from the brain travel quickly and smoothly to the rest of the body. In MS, the myelin becomes damaged, disrupting the transfer of these messages.
- MS is unpredictable. Symptoms can occur randomly. Some of the most common are problems with mobility and balance, pain, fatigue and muscle spasms.
- It is possible for MS to occur at any age, but people are most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.
- Women are two to three times as likely to develop MS as men.
- The exact cause of MS is not fully understood, although there is some evidence to suggest that it is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
- MS is a life-long condition and as yet there is no cure, but there are many treatments, which aim to improve the symptoms and make them easier to live with.
‘Mr Quinn’s condition will continue to deteriorate inexorably and it is frankly unacceptable that no one is prepared to take decisive action to bring this situation to a swift conclusion.’
She outlined the emotional and financial distress that had been caused to Mr Quinn, who has worked and paid social security contributions in Jersey, and his family.
‘The financial burden on his elderly parents to travel back and forth to Jersey is unsustainable and the distress caused to Mr Quinn and his family is increasingly severe,’ she said.
‘No one would want Mr Quinn to end his days away from his family but unless this situation is resolved that is precisely what might happen.’
Ms Bowen also said that specialist services in Scotland had already agreed to accept Mr Quinn and the MS Service in Ayrshire was ‘excellent’.
She added: ‘The only barrier is the unwillingness of the two authorities to come to an agreement.
‘Whatever the conclusion, it is time for the endless back and forth to conclude and for this man’s wishes to be honoured.’
Mr Quinn’s brother Paul Keohone has also written to the Scottish Health Department and pointed out that his parents have had to re-mortgage their house to finance trips to visit their son.
Speaking to the JEP this week Mr Keohone, who lives in Glasgow, said: ‘I don’t care who funds Steve’s health care as long as someone does and we get him back here.’
An online petition organised by Mr Keohone to support his brother’s case has now received almost 6,000 signatures.
