JOYCE'S STORY
“My Mother Was Taken From Her Home and Cut Off From Me”
For more than a year, Joyce has been fighting to protect her mother — a woman who asked for nothing more than family contact, familiarity, and dignity in her later years.
What she walked into instead was a system that allowed Power of Attorney to overrule every safeguard, every concern, and every plea for help.
This is her story.
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Removed From Her Home — Without Warning
Joyce’s mother lived in the community she knew, with neighbours who cared for her and routines that kept her grounded.
But without family consultation — and without her consent — she was suddenly removed from her own home and placed into a care home miles away, surrounded by strangers.
Joyce had no say.
Her mother had no voice.
And the system simply accepted it.
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A Daughter Blocked From Visits
When Joyce asked when she could see her mother, she expected compassion.
Instead, she was told that the sibling holding Power of Attorney had banned visits.
No explanation.
No review.
No safeguarding assessment.
Just: “Your sister has PoA — she decides.”
For months, Joyce woke every day not knowing whether her mother was safe, frightened, or declining alone.
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⭐ Social Work’s Response: “We Cannot Intervene — PoA Decides”
Joyce repeatedly contacted the HSCP, raising concerns about:
• blocked access
• sudden removal from home
• her mother’s emotional wellbeing
• lack of family contact
• changes to routine
• missing belongings
Each time, she was told the same thing:
“We cannot intervene because Power of Attorney has authority.”
No Adult Support & Protection inquiry.
No review of emotional harm.
No multi-agency meeting.
No challenge to decisions that cut off family.
No safeguarding at all.
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A Promise Made — and Broken
Joyce was told that her mother would be given an independent advocate, someone who could speak on her behalf and ensure her rights were protected.
That advocate never came.
Without advocacy, her mother had no representation, no voice, and no protection against decisions made without her input.
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Her Belongings Missing — and Her Home Now Being Sold
Joyce later discovered that:
• her mother’s personal possessions were missing,
• items of emotional value were unaccounted for, and
• the family home was being put up for sale under PoA
— and again, she was not consulted.
When Joyce questioned how her mother could “consent” to a sale when she had been prevented from contact for months, no one could answer.
This is exactly the kind of situation the public believes cannot happen — but it can.
And it did.
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Her Mother’s Decline — Preventable and Ignored
Photos and observations from early 2025 show Joyce’s mother as she once was:
• talking
• smiling
• engaging
• enjoying normal life
Now, months into enforced isolation, she appears:
• frightened
• withdrawn
• confused
• emotionally flat
Joyce believes the isolation is destroying her — and the system is watching it happen.
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“This Is Not Care. This Is Cruelty.” — Joyce
Joyce has said openly:
“This is elder abuse hidden behind Power of Attorney.
My mother was taken from her home, taken from me, and taken from everyone she loves.
No parent should have to go through this. It’s wrong on every level.”
She is determined that no other family goes through what she has endured.
Her story is already helping to expose a pattern repeating across Scotland.
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⭐ Support Joyce — Sign Her Petition
Joyce is fighting not just for her mother, but for every family struggling in silence.
👉 Read & Sign Joyce Ramsay’s Petition
Petition · Ensure fair treatment in power of attorney situations - United Kingdom · Change.org
Your signature gives her strength — and helps shine a light on a system that urgently needs change.
“I’m scared my brother won’t let me see our mother before she dies”
The Sunday Times – 19 October 2024 – Marcello Mega
Summary (taken entirely from the published article): FAMILY CONSENT
The Sunday Times reported that an 82-year-old Scottish woman with dementia, living in a care home since 2014, was prevented from seeing most of her close family for almost a decade after her son obtained Power of Attorney (PoA).
According to the article:
• the daughter and grandsons were initially stopped from taking her out and were later banned from visiting altogether
• the care home followed instructions provided by the attorney
• in 2016, while the woman still had capacity, social workers recorded that she had expressed a wish to see her daughter, but the visit did not take place
• the attorney told the newspaper he was acting in accordance with his mother’s wishes and in her best interests
• the daughter expressed fear that she might never see her mother again before she dies
The article also highlighted wider national concerns raised by MPs and Scottish politicians about lack of oversight in PoA decision-making, frequent family exclusion, and limited routes for challenge through HSCPs, MWC and OPG.
Source: The Sunday Times, 19 October 2024.
** Post-publication update (provided with family consent):
The family confirmed that following the publication of the article, the daughter was able to see her mother again for the first time in almost ten years.
However, visits are in a limited format. The current arrangements, as described by the family, allow contact on three set days per week. Visits are supervised, time-limited to approximately 30 minutes (from check-in to check-out at the care home), and must follow a restricted visitation schedule.
🌿 A gentle note
This page is based on public information from Scottish law.
We are not lawyers — we’re families who learned the hard way.
Nothing here is legal advice.
Everything you share stays private.
Now use your voice — and let us know what worked for you.
Your experience could help the next family find their way. 💛