Sharon South with her father Gerald

THE daughter of a Jamaican builder who raised five daughters on his own says her father has been failed by every level of the care system.

Sharon South, 51, said her father Gerald South has been “left to die” by the council and the hospital staff treating him.

The former residential social worker left her job two years ago to become a full-time carer for her 95-year-old father after he developed dementia and kidney and heart failure.

Speaking from his bedside at University College London Hospital, Euston, she said: “My dad came here in the 1960s, a man that couldn’t read or write but worked hard his whole life. He sacrificed his life for us – my mum had mental health issues so they separated and my dad raised us.”

She argued that her father, a keen wrestling and cricket fan, had been let down by several services. In June, after reports of mould in his Pollard Close home in Holloway, Islington housing came in to cover it with paint. The problem grew and earlier this month he was hospitalised with breathing problems brought on by the damp conditions.

The council has now agreed to repairs that will take five days, but have not found a suitable location for him because its care homes are full.

Islington has just three functioning care homes, with another three closed for refurbishment and one that is private.

Mr South has been forced to stay on in hospital – what the NHS describe as bed blocking – and last week he had a fall after he was left unsupervised in a chair.

The mould in Mr South’s home

Under the terms of his care plan, Mr South has a social worker who should visit monthly to check on his health and wellbeing, but his daughter said: “Nobody has been to see my dad since June, July – my dad could be getting beaten up by me. Nobody’s been. His care plan has not been done for the new year. His risk assessment’s not been done four times since he’s been discharged from hospital and no one’s come to see if the man can walk from there to there.”

More than a year ago Stephen Chandler, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services – a national body that monitors social care – said the system had “gone past breaking point” and is now a “broken system”.

Ms South agreed. She called what she has seen her father and other elderly patients on his UCLH ward go through evidence of a “completely broken” care system that has left him and the hundreds of thousands like him with no safety net.

She added: “We all know there’s a shortage of funding in the NHS, but it’s every aspect of social care as well: from housing to social services, if I ­wasn’t there for my dad, he’d probably be dead by now.”

Islington’s Carers Champion Cllr Janet Burgess said Ms South was welcome to contact her and should seek support through Islington Carers Hub. Calling Mr South’s case “tragic” she added: “My take on social care is that it’s coping as well as it can. The government keep putting off funding it properly and councils are struggling to help as many people as it can. Islington has always funded more generously than many other boroughs. I’m not saying it’s perfect, it clearly isn’t and more needs to be done.”

A council spokesperson said: “We want everyone in Islington to have the best possible chance of a long and healthy life, with a place to call home that is decent and secure. We’re working closely with Mr South and his family to provide the best care, and working hard to complete the repairs in his home as quickly as possible.”

A UCLH spokesperson said: “We have been in contact with the patient’s family and are addressing concerns raised – we are sorry for any distress caused.

“We strive to offer the best possible care to all patients and our staff are working extremely hard in very challenging circumstances.”