'I have lived in absolute hell' - Daughter of Portsmouth woman who was fed dog food by carer calls for change
‘Mum couldn't have a voice when she needed one, so I'll make sure she has one now’
The daughter of a woman whose last months of life were affected by “endless failings” in her care has spoken of the “absolute hell” she has lived through as she sought justice for her mum.
Justine Morrison, of Milton, has been fighting for two and a half years to highlight the issues faced by her mum, Joyce, whose at-home care treatment by Radis saw her fed dog food as well as litany of errors including being force-fed and left in the dark.
Joyce died in July 2024 from the frailty of old age at 96 with Justine reporting the incidents to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. They investigated the treatment that Joyce received, which was commissioned by Portsmouth City Council, and found that there was significant failing in the care provided by Radis as well as with the council’s oversight and quality monitoring.
On Monday, August 24, Justine spoke of the ordeal that she and her family have been through at an extraordinary council meeting looking into the ombudsman's report at the Portsmouth Guildhall. Further details were heard on the issues with the care provided to Joyce with Justine revealing she wants to bring about “meaningful change” to adult social care though a petition and via a charity in her mother’s name.
In an emotional deputation where she had to pause to hold back tears on occasion, Justine spoke of who her mother was and how she wanted her to be remembered for her life rather than the way she was treated in her final months.
She described Joyce as a “caring and compassionate” person who spent her life caring for other people making it even harder for Justine to accept that when she was vulnerable and needed others to care for her “she was not shown the same care and dignity”.
Justine said: “When my dad was passing away, I promised him that I would look after mum and that I would make sure no harm would come to her. That promise has stayed with me every single day.”
When caring for her mum became too much they employed Radis to be an at-home care provider. In paying thousands of pounds for care, Justine said her mum expected “safety, dignity, compassion and proper care”.
She added: “Instead what happened to mum has changed my life forever. There was not just one failing, there was endless failings. I witnessed my mum being left hanging from her bed like a sack of potatoes. She was left for hours in soiled and smelly nappies. She was given stale food. She was left in the dark crying out.
“Medication was found in and under her bed and was also placed in a such small paper cup, no bigger than a 10 pence piece, that she couldn't get a finger in it as her hands were riddled with arthritis. Records were not accurate and her care plans became 18 months out of date. Her ‘do not resuscitate’ form was found screwed up at the back of a cabinet.
“Mum lived through the war, she experienced evacuation and lived through times most of us can only imagine. Yet I don’t believe she ever experienced anything quite like what she went through towards the end of her life. This is something I will never be able to accept.”
Justine raised several concerns with Radis, including an email in January 2024 to the manager who said a safeguard referral would be raised. However, of the five complaints raised, only four were officially filed with the manager telling Justine that she didn’t know how to raise a safeguarding concern.
When she was told that her mum had been fed dog food, two weeks after the care provider knew of the incident, she “could not describe what those words did to me”.
Justine said: “This was my mum, a vulnerable elderly woman who depended upon other people to protect her dignity. What happened to mum should not be hidden or forgotten. Every time I speak about mum I am being her voice because she can no longer speak for herself.
“This has never only been about the ombudsman report. It has been about accountability. It has been about making sure other families do not have to fight as hard as I have fought, simply to be heard. This has completely controlled my life. I have spent years fighting, complaining, gathering information, and trying to get answers. It has affected my work running a small hairdressing business, my clients and my income.”
Justine is now looking to turn Joyce’s experience into a positive, using it to drive change in the care industry. She has set up a petition for Joyce’s Law calling for greater training to be given to care staff and stronger safeguarding and accountability to be enforced.
She said at the meeting: “I will carry what happened to my mum for the rest of my life. I cannot change what happened to her but what I can do is use what happened to her to push for change. I want stronger safeguarding and accountability in adult social care. I want families’ concerns taken seriously from the moment they are raised. I want better communication between care providers, councils and families.
“Communication is fundamental to safe care. Where English is not someone’s first language I believe there should be an appropriate, proper written and spoken English assessment rather than relying simply on online multiple choice testing.
“That is not about where somebody comes from. It is about making sure every carer can understand a care plan, communicate with the person they are supporting, recognise a medical or safeguarding concern and communicate clearly with families and other professionals. These are basic requirements of safe care.”
The petition is not the only way that Justine is looking to help prevent other people going through the same situation she faced. She is in the process of setting up a registered charity called Joyce’s Voice which will campaign for change and be an advocate and source of guidance for people faced with similar issues.
Justine said: “Mum couldn't have a voice when she needed one, so I'll make sure she has one now. I want people to remember Joyce as a woman who was loved enormously, who lived a full life, who deserved dignity and respect, and whose story has helped make care better for somebody else’s mum, dad, husband, wife or grandparent. That would be my mum’s legacy.”
The meeting was chaired by councillor Matthew Winnington, the cabinet member for community wellbeing, health and care. He praised Justine for her “powerful” and “heartfelt” account and said he was “inspired” by the way she is trying to turn her experience into positive change.
Having reiterated the council’s apology to Justine and her family, Cllr Winnington said Radis should be ashamed and highlighted inaccuracies in information they provided since the story was released publicly.
He said: “They have stated that they have apologised to Justine and her family. They have not, that is not true. It is outrageous that they are putting that out. They also said that they withdrew from the contract in Portsmouth and that is also not true. It is true that they tried to withdraw from their contract.”
A briefing was then read out from July 2025 with Radis giving six weeks notice to the council to find an alternative provider, unless they put up their fees by 1.61 per cent. The contract was subsequently ended by the council.
Cllr Winnington added: “That is outrageous that a provider who has let someone down and have already been letting people down. Joyce’s experience was unfortunately not on its own but it was the most serious.
“I’m extraordinarily disappointed by Radis. They let people down. We have apologised because we did not have the oversight we should have had but Radis let Justine and her family down and they let Joyce down. They should be ashamed of that, as we are ashamed of not having that oversight.
“They should give a full apology to Justine and her family for all of the distress they caused. They should also apologise to the people of this city for the lack of care they showed when they had the contract.”
Andy Biddle, director of Adult Social care at PCC, confirmed that the council has stopped working with the provider and agreed to provide a financial remedy and formal apology to the family.
Mr Biddle said: “We have strengthened our oversight and quality assurance arrangements. We hope that those actions have gone partway to recompense, although nothing can make up for the experience that Justine and her family had.
“We also hope that we have put some things in place that will mitigate against this kind of thing happening again. It is always impossible to say that this can’t happen but we believe the things that we have changed should give us a better opportunity of finding out and stopping this before it happens again.
“Once again I would like to apologise on behalf of the council to Justine and her family for the experience that she has had.”
Speaking to The News following the meeting, Justine said: “It has been closure for me today, I have been able to be a voice for mum and put the story out there. I have had so many meetings with the council and they have definitely learnt and listened and they are acting on things. I just hope they keep to it.
“I have lived in absolute hell for two and half years. I have not been able to deal with losing my mum because everything was happening when she was end of life. I have had to fight with every ounce of my body and teach myself and learn where to go for help. There is no help out there to find out where to go for support, if anything they try and make it as awkward as possible so you give up and walk away. But I was not going anywhere, there is no way I was going to let this one go, it was my mum this happened to.
“It is not just about my mum any more it is about all future elderly and vulnerable people that are going to be in care. Joyce’s Voice is going to be a registered charity that is in the pipeline at the moment. It is going to be helping families so if they ever go through situations like I have been through I can be an advocate for them.
“We will give them a voice and guide them on where to go when they are coming up against things where they will not get the help they want. We want to give their loved ones the respect and dignity they deserve and protect the families.
“There is a crisis in the UK with the care system, it is now time for my mum’s voice to be heard.”
Further details on the Joyce’s Law petition can be found here.