Family files complaint against Hackney Council over OAP's social care

Relatives of Enrich Chakwa, 84, from Stoke Newington, have filed a formal complaint with Hackney Council, saying he was left living “in squalor”, despite being the subject of a care package.

Mohammad Dookhee and Jean-Pascal Linley Chakowa said that when they visited their uncle’s flat in Barbauld Road after his death, the stench of human waste was so strong it was “nauseating”.

“I thought there must be a dead cat or dog in there, it smelled so bad,” said Mr Dookhee. “It was dirty. We could not breathe.”

The walls and ceiling of Mr Chakwa’s bedroom were mouldy, they discovered, and his bedsheets were saturated with human waste.

“There were faeces on the blankets,” said Mr Dookhee. “We have kept them as evidence.”

Mohamma Doohkee with soiled bedsheets found inside his uncle Enrich Chakwa's Stoke Newington council flat (Image: Charles Thomson)

Additionally, he claimed, Mr Chakwa’s living room chair and carpets were soiled and the bathroom had seemingly not been cleaned for some time.

Hackney Council claimed it was “not informed of disrepair, mould or damp at the property”.

But it said it had been looking into Mr Chakwa’s living conditions at the time of his death.

“Paranoid”

Mr Chakwa was born on the island of Mauritius in 1938, under British Colonial rule. His father was a soldier with the British Army.

Mr Chakwa relocated to England in the late 1960 and worked in a theatre, then trained as a technician and fixed medical equipment, such as heart monitors.

Mohammad Dookhee and Jean-Pascal Linley Chakowa with a photograph of Enrich Chakwa in his younger days (Image: Charles Thomson)

In the early 1990s, his nephews said, he underwent surgery for a medical condition, which left him disabled, so the council moved him into his ground floor flat in Barbauld Road.

In his old age, they said, he occupied himself by going to the betting shop “to have a little flutter” – small bets of £2 or £5.

But since the pandemic, he was “like a hermit”.

“After Covid it was very difficult to deal with him,” said Mr Doohkee.

“He became paranoid. You called him, he didn’t pick up the phone. When you came around, he would shout.”

They have since discovered that doctors suspected Mr Chakwa had dementia.

Enrich Chakwa died from a heart attack on February 19, 2023, at Homerton Hospital, where he was being treated for pneumonia (Image: Chakwa family)

Concerns

They were shocked to discover the conditions their uncle had been living in.

Since his death, they have spoken to his carer.

“He says he told the council so many times and they never did anything,” Mr Dookhee claimed.

“He says he discharged his duty because a social worker came around and knew the extent of the filth.

“He says his job was not to clean. It was to come and give him medicine and food. I asked him, ‘Did you not bathe the gentleman?’ He said no.”

Mr Dookhee said he had filed a formal complaint with the council over the “sufficiency” of the care package.

“I just find it abhorrent,” he said.

“This isn’t just about Mr Chakwa. If it is happening to him, it will be happening to other people. We are speaking out for other elderly people. This needs to stop.”

The walls and ceiling in Mr Chakwa's Hackney council flat were mouldy (Image: Charles Thomson)

Council Response

The council said Mr Chakwa became known to its adult social care team in December 2021, following a hospital stay.

“He was discharged with a package of care that consisted of two visits per day to help him with a range of activities, including mobility support, personal care, meal preparation and domestic tasks,” it said.

“Following concerns raised by care workers, a range of additional help was provided, including assistance with access to the shops, the installation of a new fridge, an increase in care to four calls per day, a referral to a cleaning team and food vouchers.

“On occasions Mr Chakwa was visited by social care, he did not answer, and so a social worker was allocated to consider how to improve his acceptance of support.

“Mr Chakwa sadly passed away while this was being done.

“Adult social care had not seen pictures of the property during the year he was being supported, but following a complaint raised by the family we will be making contact with them to discuss their concerns.”