Treated like a hardened drug dealer: As he is finally cleared, anger of RAF hero, 83, arrested for giving wife painkillers in her care home

A grandfather arrested and banned from seeing his wife after he gave her a painkiller patch at her care home said last night he had been treated like ‘a hardened drug dealer’.

Walter Crompton, 83, had attached the prescription patch to her arm after she told him that she had been left in severe discomfort by arthritis.

But staff at Allendale Care Home, in Blackley, Manchester, where the dementia sufferer has been living, contacted police because the patch contained morphine.

Four days later Mr Crompton – who had been his wife Eileen’s only carer for 15 years before she became seriously ill and went into the home – was arrested on suspicion of ‘administering a noxious substance’.

He was even locked up for seven hours in a police cell.

But only after a two-month police probe has he finally been cleared of wrongdoing.

Yesterday the RAF veteran – who has lost weight and struggled to sleep since his arrest – said: ‘This whole sorry business has been hanging over me for months and I think the way it has been dealt with is absolutely disgusting.

‘I’ve had a hell of a time and been treated as if I was like some kind of hardened drug dealer. ‘I’ve never committed a crime in my 83 years and for this to happen is mind-boggling.

‘For the police to say I’ve tried to harm my wife is unbelievable. ‘She had complained of arthritis in her arm and I said I had a pain patch in my pocket so I put it on her arm.

‘I used to look after her 24 hours a day so I know what she can and can’t have.’

He said: ‘I have never been in a cell before. I’ve only seen stuff like that on TV. ‘I never had anything to eat from morning to night when I was in the cell.’

Mr Crompton was asked to give fingerprints and a DNA sample and his house was searched, before he was interviewed by officers at midnight.

He was eventually released and taken home at 1am but as part of his bail conditions he was barred from contacting his wife of 60 years.

The retired British Aerospace aircraft engineer later had his bail conditions relaxed slightly so that he could see his wife – but only if accompanied by a social worker, who was not always available.

He added: ‘I’ve been missing my wife greatly because before of all this. ‘I used to be allowed see her every day but after my arrest I was told not to contact her at all. ‘I was allowed to visit her later but only under supervision with someone watching over us.

‘Two or three days per week I had no one to go to the care home with me so I was restrained from seeing my wife. It was terrible. Then on Monday when I went to the police station they told me there was no case to answer.

‘They said all accusations had been dropped. Why couldn’t that have happened after two weeks? It’s been an absolutely horrendous three months.’

Instead, officers from the Greater Manchester Police Public Protection Investigation Unit started an investigation and a ‘multi-agency strategy meeting’ was held.

Detective Superintendent Joanne Rawlinson said: ‘This was a potentially serious incident in which a vulnerable elderly woman with significant health issues could have come to serious harm and, as such, people would expect the police to always conduct a thorough investigation.

‘An integral part of the inquiry was to safeguard the potential victim and, while the investigation was ongoing, bail conditions were necessary to ensure this happened.

‘After twice interviewing the 83-year-old man, we presented a file of evidence to the CPS and they ruled there is insufficient evidence to proceed to a charge.’

A spokesman for Allendale Care Home said: ‘We strictly follow the guidelines with regard to patient care and protection to ensure they receive the highest standard of care.’

Original report here

　

　

　

(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today. Now hosted on Wordpress. If you cannot access it, go to the MIRROR SITE, where posts appear as well as on the primary site. I have reposted the archives (past posts) for Wicked Thoughts HERE or HERE or here