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1 Film 1 An Introduction Joe s story SCENE 1: SOUNDSCAPE & GRAPHICS Fade up from black. A white caption appears on screen: Most of us can t believe it still happens Our soundscape fades in. In different voices we hear harsh words, muffled cries, and concerned questions. All imply abusive behaviour and the distressed, vulnerable adults who may be on the receiving end. He s still in pain Time for your medicine Stupid cow Are you alright? I m sorry We re doing all we can Not again Over the soundscape, graphic text spells out what s going on: Neglect Discrimination Theft Isolation Violence Mistreatment Intimidation Depersonalisation Poor practice Abuse. The words last only a few seconds but the discomfort they cause lingers. SCENE 2: INTERIOR, EARLY MORNING, CARE HOME, Joseph s Bedroom There s a snap the picture flashes and our discordant sound-scape is silenced by the sound of a sharp knock and then a swift opening of a door. The light switch is flicked on illuminating the scene and our screen. We see a Carer enter a bedroom. She crosses the room and shakes the sleeping occupant of the bed. Carer: Time to wake up Joseph. As she moves away we see Joseph, suddenly awake. He s wide-eyed and tense. There s a photo frame on the bedside, Joseph just a few years ago with his wife. The red glow of the LCD of a radio alarm clock by his bed shows it s 5.00am. A caption cuts on to screen, white on black as before but this time it s clear we re hearing Joseph s words or thoughts. It was hard leaving the old place Under the caption, we hear the Carer chivvy Joseph Carer: Come on Joseph, you need to get up. Joseph mutters, we can t make out exactly what he says. We cut back to the bedroom, another Carer enters the room and greets Carer 1. We see a bit of bustle as one opens the curtains and the other manoeuvres Joseph s wheelchair closer to the bed. The Carers are hurried and matter of fact. They talk over Joseph as they move him from bed into the wheelchair. Carer 1: Your back still bothering you? Carer 2: It s alright. Did you see Corrie last night. Carer 1: Missed it couldn t get off the phone to my Mum. Joseph: My glasses? Carer 2: Oh my god, you ll have to see it on Sunday, Roy and Hayley were at it again Author (if required) dd month yyyy (if required) Page 1 of 5

2 The conversation continues as we cut to our next caption: But after Ella died, I couldn t manage by myself Joseph looks disorientated and dishevelled. He asks for his glasses but the carers continue their conversation as if he isn t there. The trained nurse in charge pops her head around the door. Nurse: Everything OK in here ladies? It s clear that there s nothing in their care of Joseph to cause concern to the nurse in charge. Carer 1 [to Nurse]: Nearly done. Nurse: Staff meeting at half past, OK? Joseph: Please my glasses. Carer 2: OK. [Then to Joseph] We ll sort that out in a minute. The carer places Joseph s catheter bag on his lap. SCENE 3a INTERIOR, DAY, CARE HOME, Corridor We cut to see Joseph in his wheelchair. Carer 1 pushes him down the corridor. He s wearing his pajamas and a dressing gown and his catheter bag is on his lap. He looks off into the middle distance, not focusing on anything. The Nurse walks past them, clearly very busy. SCENE 3b: INTERIOR, DAY, CARE HOME, Dining Room We cut to see porridge being served at the breakfast trolley. Joseph is sitting in the dining room. We see a Carer tie a bib around his neck his catheter bag is still on his lap. A Kitchen Assistant puts down a breakfast tray in front of him: Kitchen Assistant [chirpily]: There you go Joseph, your favourite. We see Joseph s face, implacid porridge again. He reaches for his spoon with a shaky hand and starts to eat. His expression doesn t give the impression of porridge being his favourite. Just the luck of the draw. We cut back to Joseph. He pushes his barely eaten bowl of porridge away. In the background we see the Nurse on the phone in her office. Her face is drawn and tired, a reflection of her heavy workload. Kitchen Assistant: Not hungry this morning? Joseph: I need my glasses. Kitchen Assistant: Your glasses? Joseph: They re upstairs. Kitchen Assistant [jovially]: Silly thing, what did you leave them up there for? A camera pulls away from Joseph, he looks isolated and alone. A caption cuts onto screen I don t want to be a burden to anyone But I suppose I am.

3 SCENE 4: INTERIOR, DAY: ANTENATAL CLINIC, Waiting Room We fade up to a contrasting scene: the waiting room of a antenatal clinic. We see Nina and Nik Mészáros are waiting for their appointment with the midwife. Nina is well dressed and 28 weeks pregnant. Nik is all smiles as he chats to his wife who looks slightly tense and tired. Nik has Nina s notes on his lap. They look up as the Gill, a midwife in her 30s, calls them into the consulting room. Gill: Nina Mészáros? Nina and Nik get up and Gill smiles warmly at them: Gill: Did I get it right this time? It s Nik who answers: Nik [amicable and with an accent]: Yes, very good Més-zár-os. It means butcher. Gill: Butcher is a common surname here We hear the banter between Gill and Nik continue as they walk down the corridor to the consulting room, Nina walks slightly behind them. This time our captions articulate the midwife s thoughts: We ve all had the training, telling us what to look out for. SCENE 5: INTERIOR, DAY: ANTENATAL CLINIC, Consultancy Room We see the consultation take place. Nik often answers questions for Nina and is very much running the conversation, acting as Nina s interpreter. Sometimes he answers without translating the question or waiting for Nina s response. As they enter the room, Gill walks around the desk and gestures that Nina and Nik should sit down Gill: Please take a seat Nik [before he sits]: You need these? Nik hand the Nina s medical file to Gill. Gill [Then briefly to Nina]: You ve got him well trained I wish all my dads were so organised. Gill looks through the notes, refreshing her memory of their last visit. Nina and Nik wait for her to speak. Gill [to Nina]: So how have you been since I last saw you? Nina looks to Nik. Nik: Fine, yes, very good. We cut to our next caption, the conversation continues in the background: But you never want to think the worst of people. We cut back to the consulting room; Gill asks Nina s to take off her cardigan so they can take her blood pressure. As Gill straps the armband on, we see bruises on Nina s forearm. Gill: That looks sore. Nina says nothing. She looks to Nik who laughs:

4 Nik: Being pregnant has made her a little clumsy. There s an uncomfortable silence before Nina deftly changes the subject asking Nik to get the blood test forms from her bag. We see Gill glance from Nik to Nina. Nina [in Hungarian]: We need to give the forms for blood test, they re in my bag Nik gets the forms from Nina s handbag. He hands them to Gill and then says something curt and abrupt to Nina in Hungarian. Gill thanks Nik and notes Nina s blood pressure and topic of the bruises is dropped. Our next caption cuts on screen: It s hard to know what to do, especially with him right there in the room. And what if you re wrong? Underneath the caption, we hear the conversation in the consulting room continue Well your blood pressure is fine, we hear Nik translate, back to Gill, we ll just measure you re tummy now. The screen fades to black. SCENE 6: INTERIOR, DAY: NHS HOSPITAL, Corridor We cut to our final scene, a bustling acute ward in an NHS hospital. Sheila, in her mid-50s walks up the corridor carrying a bunch of yellow flowers and a bag of clean night dresses for Michelle. We cut to see a white text on screen. Our caption conveys Sheila s thoughts: Michelle was so upset when we brought her in SCENE 7a: INTERIOR, DAY: NHS HOSPITAL, Nurse s Station We cut to see a bustling Nurse s station. Julie is on the phone. She shoots a look to one at Sheila as she walks past but deliberately doesn t catch her eye or acknowledge her. SCENE 7b: INTERIOR, DAY: NHS HOSPITAL, Ward Sheila walks through the ward to her daughter s bed. Michelle is in her 20s and has a learning disability. She s groggy and distressed. Her mouth is dry and there s blistering and a white build-up on her lips. She s sitting up and rocking slightly. Her Mum goes to comfort her. Sheila: That s alright love, I m here now. We cut to black and our next caption fades up But she was off her food and we knew something was wrong We cut back to see Sheila trying to soothe her daughter. She offers her some water. Sheila: Here you are love, try and drink this. Michelle takes a sip but splutters as she tries to swallow. Her rocking is more extreme and she cries more loudly. It s not clear whether she s in pain or emotionally upset. Our next caption fades up: Everyone said she d be better off here But she seems to be getting worse Underneath the caption we continue to hear the sounds of Sheila trying to comfort her daughter and Michelle crying.

5 SCENE 7: INTERIOR, DAY: NHS HOSPITAL, Ward We cut to see Sheila talking to a Julie, a nurse on the ward. She s clearly agitated as she expresses her concerns about Michelle s lack of progress. We overhear a little of their conversation, it s clear that the nurse views Michelle as difficult, noncompliant. Sheila: I m just so worried Julie [Nurse]: We re doing our best Mrs Howison but Michelle doesn t make it easy. Sheila: She s not like this at home. The conversation continues. We fade up our next caption: We can t understand why they won t listen to us. Julie walks away. Sheila crosses her arms and draws her breath in through her nose, her mouth tenses. Michelle, in the background, continues rocking and crying. The screen fades to black. Reminiscent of the sound-scape that we heard at the beginning of the film, the conversation fades further and further into the background until all we hear is Michelle s crying. Our final caption fades up: Safeguarding Adults. If you don t do something, who will?