Family from Cavendish, near Sudbury, petitions for change to support for addicts and homeless after blaming systemic failures for man’s death
A Suffolk family has demanded urgent change to how individuals struggling with addiction and homelessness are treated, after alleging that systemic failures led to their relative’s death.
More than 20,000 people have signed a petition set up by Cavendish resident Charley Smith, following the death of her brother, Jamie, at West Suffolk Hospital last month.
The petition, which will be submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care, calls for integrated care models to be created, to help those recovering from addiction, or who have been homeless.
Jamie – who was homeless for seven years, and battled drug addiction for almost 15 years, before he became sober in October – died on April 22, aged 35, due to complications from a heart infection.
Charley claims that her brother did not receive appropriate care before or after his open heart surgery at Papworth Hospital in September, nor during his final admission at West Suffolk Hospital.
She told the Suffolk Free Press that she feels this is because he was being judged due to his background – alleging that hospital staff were dismissive of him, and inattentive to his health needs as a result.
“We want the system to change,” said Charley. “We feel like they judge people as soon as they find out that they are addicts or homeless.
“We want to change the way hospital staff treat them. I feel they don’t know how to handle these situations, because addiction is such a hard condition to understand.
“All my brother wanted was to be able to live at home with his family, and he was able to do this for seven months. It was not drugs that killed him; it was an infection that wasn’t picked up.”
The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Suffolk Hospital, declined to comment publicly on Jamie’s case at this stage.
However, a spokesman confirmed that they had been in contact with the family in order to arrange a meeting to discuss the case.
Charley explained that Jamie, who also had severe attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and Asperger’s syndrome, had struggled with addiction to heroin and crack cocaine.
Prior to achieving sobriety last autumn, he experienced multiple heart attacks, and he was diagnosed with bicuspid heart valve endocarditis, vegetation in his blood, and a spinal cyst.
In September 2024, Jamie underwent open heart surgery at Papworth Hospital to repair a hole in his heart, replace his aortic valve and remove an infection.
Charley said: “If it was not for the doctor at Change, Grow, Live (CGL), which is a drug and alcohol support programme, Jamie would never have received the surgery
“He was supported by a support worker and a doctor, who got it to an ethics board, where it was decided that the surgery would happen. If this hadn’t happened, they would have let him die then.”
She says Jamie was discharged less than a week after his operation, into the care of his disabled mother, with no aftercare or support plan put in place.
While waiting for a follow-up appointment, he was in and out of West Suffolk Hospital over the ensuing months, with stomach pain and vomiting.
However, despite undergoing an endoscopy and colonoscopy, the underlying issue was not found, and he was discharged each time.
Charley explained that this was made worse because they had to repeat his medical history to doctors each time, as his records were apparently not shared.
Jamie was admitted to the hospital for the final time on April 16 after his condition deteriorated, with pain so severe that he was unable to walk.
Once admitted, Charley claimed that staff had treated her brother in a disrespectful manner, and did not provide him with oxygen or painkillers for a long time.
Charley recalled that they eventually reluctantly gave him painkillers on the cardiology ward, where he was treated with antibiotics every four hours, but his condition continued to deteriorate.
Jamie died on April 22, following a cerebrovascular event caused by acute aortic valve perforation, which was due to infectious endocarditis of his biological prosthetic.
Charley added: “Jamie hadn’t, in our eyes, received the appropriate care before and after his surgery, as well as when he was in and out of hospital, struggling with an infection they didn’t pick up.
“We want to know where the infection came from, and why weren’t we told he was at end of life, so we could be there for him?
“Why was he treated like he was nothing by a lot of the staff? There are so many unanswered questions that we don’t think we will ever be able to fully heal without answers to.”
Charley added that Jamie’s story is not unique, and that thousands of others face similar struggles, because of the gaps in the support systems for addicts and homeless people.
To address this, her petition calls for the creation of comprehensive care models, including sustained therapy, regular follow-ups and community support systems.
It states that healthcare and social services need greater training and co-ordination to ensure vulnerable people receive more robust support and holistic care.
To view the petition, go online to www.change.org/p/demand-comprehensive-support-for-addicts-and-homeless.
