An old guy in his 80s lived in the flat above me,(until he passed away last night)But 3days ago his home help knocked on my door asking if i knew where he was.I explained to her that i had been away for five days,and she left.
The old man was a very polite and generous person,who always bought my OHs son presents at Xmas and Easter.But he was also a very private man who we seldom saw.
Two days ago it became apparent to my OH and myself that we had not heard him walking around his flat,and he had not put his bin out.
Yesterday i noticed his letter box was piling up and i could see his medication pack was still there,so thee alarm bells started ringing.
When my OH returned home from work we decided to call the Police.
When the Police arrived we explained the situation and told them that the only family we were aware of was his brother.
The Police left,then returned a couple of hours after and told us he was not at his brothers home.The Police then gained entry into his flat,then informed us that he was dead.
The Police then went off to give the bad news to his brother.When the Police eventually returned they told us that he refused to identify/confirm it was his brother,(apparentely they had not seen each other for over a year,even though they lived close to each other)
Anyway they asked if we would identify him,(which my OH did)
The strange thing is he is now in the funeral parlour 20 yards from his home.
But the thing i can't understand is could his home-help/care-worker done more to alert the authorities?Surely there should have been a careplan in place containing his medication and family information.
It's a sad day and also such a shame that he died alone.
I'm not sure he could have been saved even with earlier intervention,but if you have elderly neighbours try and remember their routine and be alert to any changes.
