Anger as ‘inhumane’ Sweden deports bedridden British Alzheimer’s patient, 74, separates her from her family – just because her passport has expired

An elderly British woman with Alzheimer’s disease who cannot walk or talk is snatched from her loved ones and deported from Sweden because she cannot get a current passport. ‘.

Widow Kathleen Poole, 74, moved to Sweden from Macclesfield, Cheshire, 18 years ago to be near her son Wayne, his Swedish wife Angelica and their four children.

But the bedridden pensioner fell ill with dementia eleven years ago and has been living in a nursing home for ten years. She is now so disabled by the degenerative disease that she is unable to feed herself or go to the bathroom without help.

Now the helpless grandmother is being threatened with deportation after her family’s application to stay was rejected. Ms Poole’s family told authorities she did not have a passport because she was too ill to travel and did not need one.

However, her pleas seem to fall on deaf ears. Officials at the British Embassy in Stockholm told them on Friday that Swedish police had been contacted to insist that a care home for Ms Poole be found in the UK.

Her family says they have not updated her passport because she is bedridden and unable to travel. Ms Poole is pictured in her bed at her care home in Sweden

“It is impossible to say how long it will take, but as soon as we find a nursing home willing to take your mother, the police will give us a travel date and we will have to issue an emergency pass,” he said. an official of the agency said. said message. the swimming pools, The protector reported.

Speaking about his mother’s plight, her furious son Wayne previously said: “I’m devastated and angry. It is inhumane to move someone who has Alzheimer’s disease and is too sick to even care for themselves.

“It’s unfortunate that this is even an issue and that deportation even came about. Words can’t even describe it and tearing our family apart is terrible.”

Ms Poole’s daughter-in-law Angelica said the consequences of the Swedish authorities’ decision made her 11-year-old son now fear that the police would catch his grandmother.

“Those who suffer are the children. They are not the ones who have to deal with their fears and nightmares,” she added.

Kathleen, a former maid, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 63. The debilitating degenerative disease, which only worsened over time, left her unable to care for herself.

The widow has to be lifted out of bed by caregivers to get into a wheelchair. She also uses incontinence pads.

Her loved ones said they had applied to stay in Sweden before the 2021 deadline. However, she was rejected because she did not have a passport.

In happier times: Ms Poole hugs one of her grandchildren. She is now torn from her family and deported to Britain, where she has not lived for 18 years

Ms Poole was diagnosed with dementia 11 years ago and has lived in a care home for 10 years. She is now so disabled by the degenerative disease that she is unable to feed herself or go to the bathroom without help

“She can’t get out of bed, so she never needed a new passport and we explained that,” her daughter-in-law Angelica told the Guardian in February.

Last September, her family received the dreaded news that she was going to be deported.

The police reportedly arrived at the family home in January when their loved ones – who did not have power of attorney – could not show the documents needed to stay in Sweden.

Officers searched the pensioner’s cupboards and searched her clothes before questioning carers about her, the family said.

‘I’m so angry. It is shameful and ridiculous that all this is happening after 18 years in the country because of Brexit,” said Angelica.

News of Ms Poole’s fate sparked outrage among campaigners, who today criticized the decision by the Swedish authorities – with Labor MP Hilary Benn calling it “deeply shocking”.

Councilor Laura Jeuda, who represents Macclesfield South on Cheshire East Council, told MailOnline: “I find it shocking. It’s very cruel… I’m really surprised about Sweden. We know them because they care a lot – their social care is really good.

“It’s just bizarre that they would choose a woman of that age who has the added complication of dementia.

‘Cruel’ and ‘deeply shocking’: Left-wing Labor MP Hilary Benn has hit out at Sweden’s bid to deport Ms Poole, formerly of Macclesfield. While councilor Laura Jeuda (right), who represents Macclesfield South on Cheshire East Council, condemned the decision to deport the pensioner, calling it ‘cruel’.

“We don’t know what will happen to this poor woman if she is taken away from her family and taken to a foreign country she can’t remember.”

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The Labor Council called on Whitehall to intervene and oppose the Swedish authorities’ decision.

Jeuda called the fiasco “another downside of Brexit” and added: “We need to hear something from the government about this, otherwise what are we saying to our old people – that they really don’t matter?”

While David Milstead, a British physics professor in Sweden who is part of the Britain in Sweden group, blasted the police, saying they would “just put a tick” on what they could take away instead of saying : “This is ridiculous.” . it shouldn’t happen’.

After the Brexit withdrawal agreement, British citizens who lived in the EU before the 2016 referendum were given the right to remain.

However, in several countries it was a matter of filling out applications and documents to prove historical rights under free movement rules.

A Swedish government spokesman said it was “against the law” to comment on immigration issues.

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office added that it was “supporting” Ms Poole and her family.

And the European Commission said it was “aware” of Ms Poole’s case and was “in contact” with Swedish authorities.

Alzheimer’s disease affects around 850,000 people in the UK and 5.8 million in the US, but charities fear the number will rise in the coming decades as the world’s population ages.