The news that our greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, has not been seen by members of his family and close friends for two years – and the concerning circumstances surrounding his sudden isolation – has sent a chill through many who admire him.
asserted
who → live → him
Before finally being tracked down by the Daily Mail yesterday, ‘Ran’, as he is affectionately known by his friends, has reportedly been placed in a succession of care homes under a false name by his wife, Louise Millington-Cotes – who has lasting power of attorney – with strict instructions governing his care.
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who → track → care
These are said to have included preventing visits from friends and family and keeping his whereabouts secret.
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These → say → whereabouts
Anyone with experience of caring for the elderly knows how detrimental a sudden change of environment and routine can be.
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change → care → environment
At a home in Wales earlier this year, a care watchdog said Sir Ranulph, who has Parkinson’s disease, was being ‘unlawfully deprived of his liberty’.
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who → say → liberty
Such was the concern that the home’s manager wrote to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which oversees guardianship arrangements, to report Millington-Cotes’s behaviour and question the validity of a ‘do not resuscitate’ order.
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which → write → order
The news that our greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, has not been seen by members of his family and close friends for two years has sent a chill through many who admire him
It has now emerged the care watchdog refused nine times to investigate his plight.
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watchdog → live → plight
And although police insisted yesterday they have no immediate safeguarding concerns, Ran’s stepson, Alex Millington-Cotes, who appears to have enjoyed a close relationship with his stepfather but is now estranged from his mother, has launched a crowdfunding appeal to pay the legal fees of challenging the arrangements surrounding the power of attorney granted by Ran to his wife.
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who → insist → wife
Sir Ranulph’s close friends, including Dame Joanna Lumley, Bear Grylls and Ben Fogle, have made public their anxiety.
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anxiety → include → Lumley
Bear has gone so far as to declare: ‘Ran, we are coming.’
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we → go → ?
Even the King has allegedly been prevented from checking on Ran’s wellbeing after being alerted to his declining health and isolation.
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King → prevent → health
It is difficult not to imagine what effect being cut off from so many of the people who know and love him may be having.
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who → imagine → him
This awful saga has resonated with me because I have recently been through the process of granting a lasting power of attorney myself.
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I → resonate → attorney
I have given my three daughters joint legal responsibilities over my property and financial affairs and my health and welfare, knowing that one day it may make their lives easier at a time when they will already be consumed by grief.
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they → give → grief
I paid £194 because I shared the responsibility between the three of them, but registering can cost as little as £92 and is easily done online.
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registering → pay → 92
The system is designed to be a bastion of security, a way of ensuring that, should we lose the ability to make decisions for ourselves, somebody we trust can make them on our behalf.
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we → design → behalf
I would far rather my family make decisions about my welfare than leave them to the state or local authorities.
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family → make → state
But my concern now is that people who need this protection may be deterred by Sir Ranulph’s case.
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who → need → case
It has highlighted how sluggish the response from the police and authorities can be when concerns are raised about how a power of attorney is being used.
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power → highlight → attorney
Sir Ranulph has spent a lifetime pushing himself to the limits in some of the Earth’s most inhospitable places
Sadly, as a former MP and government minister, I dealt with more cases involving such disputes than I would have liked.
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I → spend → disputes
Frequently, constituents would complain to me that they were concerned about the behaviour of a sibling who had been granted power of attorney by an elderly parent.
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who → complain → parent
And, depressingly, at the root of almost every complaint was money and greed: arguments about the cost of care, eagerness to sell a property or raid a bank account.
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money → sell → account
That is precisely why the safeguards surrounding power of attorney have to work quickly.
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safeguards → surround → attorney
As things stand, official complaints – like the one submitted in the case of Sir Ranulph – can take six months to investigate.
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complaints → stand → months
That’s far too long when a vulnerable person’s health and finances are at stake.
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health → ’ → stake
Frankly, the system needs a rocket up a proverbial backside.
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system → need → backside
I would say to civil servants at the OPG: make investigating abuses a priority.
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investigating → say → abuses
The case of Sir Ranulph has shone a light on how the process could be abused.
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process → shine → light
Investigate the concerns with urgency, establish the facts and learn from whatever may have gone wrong.
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whatever → investigate → facts
Sir Ranulph has spent a lifetime pushing himself to the limits in some of the Earth’s most inhospitable places.
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Ranulph → spend → places
Let his legacy include a strengthened power of attorney system that works when we most need it.
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we → let → it
On Sunday evening, I almost cheered out loud when Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis tweeted about a packed train journey with his family.
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Lewis → cheer → family
A couple sitting across the aisle were watching social media videos on their phones at full volume.
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couple → sit → volume
When they started playing a clip about serial killers, inappropriate for his daughter to hear, he asked them to turn the volume down.
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he → start → volume
After an uncomfortable exchange, he got his way.
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he → get → way
I had my own experience last week when a man sitting opposite me on a train answered his phone and proceeded, very loudly, to tear a strip off an employee.
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man → have → employee
After 20 minutes, I plucked up the courage to ask him: ‘Excuse me, are you working?’
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you → pluck → me
He looked confused and said into the phone: ‘Hang on, mate.’
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He → look → phone
After a moment, he replied: ‘Yes.’
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he → reply → moment
My heart was pounding, but I challenged him.
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I → pound → him
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
