Elderly gay man burned by cigarette and left bruised by staff in care home abuse

The partner of a gay man who was burned by a cigarette and left bruised by staff in a south London care home has been awarded £30,000 in compensation. 

The abuse suffered by Noel Glynn, who was abused at an unnamed care home, follows London-based charity Compassion in Care publishing the second part of its “Stripped of All Pride” report last month.

In the report, data on the abuse of LGBTQ+ people is presented with contributions from whistleblowers and family members of people in care settings. 

“The most common theme affecting all the victims, is that most of [them] have no children,” said Eileen Chubb, the author of the report and the organisation’s co-founder. A former care-worker herself, she highlighted that a victims’ lack of children leads to most of the whistleblowers deciding to report the abuse.

Glynn, who died before Lambeth Council paid the compensation was paid, had dementia and lived in the Croydon care home in 2018 because the local authority was unable to provide accommodation near his Brixton home.

‘Completely helpless’

Glynn’s civil partner, Ted Brown, said that during Glynn’s stay at the home he suffered bruising across his body and a cigarette burn to the back of his hand as a result of abuse from some of the staff, according to the BBC.

He claimed that he was warned by two other LGBTQ+ residents at the same home not to tell staff they were a couple because “that won’t be good for either of you”.

Following the discovery of the abuse, Brown said he felt completely helpless. The couple sued Lambeth Council in 2021. 

A spokesperson for Lambeth Council apologised for the couple’s experiences, and added: “When allegations of abuse were made, they were fully investigated by Croydon Council as the host authority, and the outcome was shared with the police for follow-up action.” 

They said the council is working with relevant organisations so it can “better respond to the needs of older LGBTQ+ people receiving social care services”.

Part two of Compassion in Care’s “Stripped of All Pride” report claims that all abuse recorded was due to staff being motivated by one or all of the following: “A personal/religious or cultural belief that LGBTQ people were evil, needed to be converted or deemed to have engaged in criminal activity.”

‘I got treated as the problem because I reported it’

One whistleblower, who no longer works in the care system, admitted their workplace was not a safe place to be gay and said their “heart sank” when they realised an LGBTQ+ resident had moved in. 

“They made this resident’s life hell from the start, some staff would just attend to this person and not speak at all, but other staff were really abusive, verbally, and physically assaulted this person.

“I reported it but nothing changed. I tried everywhere, no one cared. I got treated as the problem because I reported it.” 

Another whistleblower revealed similar abuse of a gay resident who was treated “as if he had something catching”.

After reporting the abuse, they said: “The staff started shouting at me: ‘Are you a pervert lover? Are you gay?’ Nothing was done, I went to the authorities and left”.

A Lambeth Council spokesperson told PinkNews it was “sorry” for Glynn’s experiences in the London care home.

“When allegations of abuse were made they were fully investigated by Croydon Council as the host authority, and the outcome was shared with the police for follow up action,” the spokesperson said.

“In agreement with Mr Glynn, the council supported his move to more suitable accommodation in 2019. We are in contact with Mr Brown to keep him updated on this case and are sorry for the experiences he and Mr Glynn had of care services.

“Since 2022 Lambeth Council has been working with care home providers and additionally the charities Opening Doors, Lambeth Links and AgeUK on a programme to better respond to the needs of older LGBTQ+ people receiving social care services.

“These organisations are helping us develop new tools and training programmes to better address these needs, and to ensure there’s no incidents like this at Lambeth care homes.”