Care home bills family for empty room after gran dies

A GRIEVING family has been hit with a £2,000 bill to pay for their grandmother's room in an Edinburgh care home – for the two weeks after she died.

Heather Gray, 50, said she had been shocked and upset to receive the bill after being told by the care home operator that it had kept the bedroom for 14 days as a "grieving room".

This is despite Ms Gray clearing her grandmother Euphemia Dougan's possessions out of her room at Pentland Hill Nursing Home in Corstorphine and handing back the keys the day after the 97-year-old passed away.

The 2,152 demanded by Bupa is the same amount which covered board, bills and food when she was alive.

Mrs Gray, from Roseburn Terrace, insisted she would not pay the "ridiculous" sum, which she claims was never mentioned when she helped her grandmother pick a nursing home in 2006.

She said: "When it came through the post I was astounded, absolutely shocked. It's bad enough dealing with the loss, but this seems incredibly insensitive, especially as I cleaned out the room the day after my grandmother died.

"I wanted to start getting over the death, but two months later I have been sent a letter demanding this payment. I rang up a Bupa worker and asked for an explanation, and she told me they often leave the rooms untouched so families can have a 'grieving room'. But this is not what I wanted at all.

"My grandmother sold her beautiful house in Craigmount Park to afford good treatment at the nursing home. She's paid more than 180,000 in fees over the past four years and was never late with the payments. Why are we stuck with a 2,000 bill when she passed away? It seems ridiculous."

A spokeswoman for Bupa confirmed that there had been a number of complaints about its 14-day notice period, but said it was standard practice.

She added that a lot of families liked the opportunity to visit a deceased relative's personal space after they had passed away, therefore the company had adopted the policy to allow friends and family to grieve.

Mrs Gray said she did not understand why this was upheld after she fully cleared out the bedroom and stated that she would not be returning.

She said: "I'm disappointed and will refuse to pay. I'll pay any charges up to when she died, on 8 January, but not after. I was even told by one worker that somebody was moved into my grandmother's room before the 14-day period was up."

Kenny Valentine, regional director for Bupa Care Services, said: "We would like to offer our condolences to Mrs Dougan's family, she was a much liked and popular resident.

"Our terms and conditions are made available before residents arrive. When a resident leaves, we always ensure there is enough time for the family to remove belongings without feeling pressured."

A spokeswoman added that the company might consider looking at revising the policy in future and that it would look into offering Mrs Gray a 50 per cent discount.