Elderly couple together for 70 years allowed to stay in same care home as heartfelt petition signed by thousands

Ray and Jessie Lorrison have been married since 1950

Jessie and Ray Lorrison (North News / NNP)

An elderly couple who have been together since 1946 have been told they will be able to stay in the same care home together, after illness and an assessment process threatened to separate them.

Jessie and Ray Lorrison, from South Shields, have been described as practically inseparable since they first met 70 years ago, and have been married since 1950.

Mr Lorrison, 95, has Alzheimer’s Disease and has been living in Westoe Grange Care Home after his 88-year-old wife was taken into hospital to be treated for a fall. Mrs Lorrison’s family claimed the grandmother had been told by social services she did not fit the necessary criteria to move into the same care home as her husband following an assessment and would be sent home.

One of the couple’s grandchildren, Lee Bates, launched an online petition urging South Tyneside Council to allow the couple to stay together as it had been causing great distress to the pair.

Mr Bates told the Shields Gazette that Mr Lorrison had been crying because he missed his wife. “My grandfather sits and waits for her everyday – confused, anxious and lonely without the woman who has been by his side for 70 years,” he said.

Mr Lorrison, who was a cook in the Merchant Navy, and his wife, a shop manager, met in 1946, married in 1950 and went on to have three children.

The Change.org petition set up by Mr Bates gained more than 21,000 signatures in just a few days. The family received global support in their efforts, receiving messages from people in Australia, Poland and America.

Mr Bates had stated in the petition information Mrs Lorrison is unable to move without assistance, including for toilet visits, and suffers from a number of on-going physical problems. “My grandmother is currently in hospital and social services have decided that she is fit to go home – home alone, with carers visiting for 15 mins at a time four times a day. The care home my grandfather is in has a space for my grandmother too but social services won’t allow her to be admitted as she doesn’t fit their criteria,” he wrote.

But around the same time as the petition started to gain ground the council completed its formal assessments and found that Mrs Lorrison is in need of 24-hour care. The council said she would then be able to stay with her husband in the same care home. The couple could be reunited at the end of the week when she is released from hospital.

Mr Bates said: "We are incredibly relieved and happy that the decision has been made and my grandparents are going to be back together and that my grandmother is going to get the care that she deserves.

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said of Mrs Lorrison’s case: “The assessment process has now been completed and the lady will be placed in the same residential home as her husband. Although she is no longer able to live independently we are pleased that at least the couple will be able to stay together.

“Multi-disciplinary assessments take into account information from a number of health and social care services including social worker, medical and nursing staff and occupational therapists to understand the level of support required for any individual prior to reaching an outcome.

“The assessment process is clearly set out in legislation to ensure that we meet an individual’s needs in the best possible way.”

Additional reporting by PA