A quadriplegic who has spent a nightmare 40 years “incarcerated” on a hospital ward for elderly dementia patients could be moving to a new home.

Health chiefs have finally agreed to allow Luke Caines to move out of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital’s dilapidated Continuing Care Unit to Summerhaven, a residential home which provides “independent living for the physically challenged” — and where many of Mr Caines’ former schoolmates now live.

Mr Caines, 53, was born with cerebral palsy and moved to the CCU at the age of 14 after being orphaned. He has remained there ever since.

The unit cares for around 100 elderly and frail patients suffering from dementia who are nearing the end of their lives — the majority of patients die within two years of being admitted.

In May, 2013, The Royal Gazette revealed the findings of a team of independent inspectors who said that CCU patients were receiving poor care in inappropriately “clinical” conditions.

The United Kingdom Dementia Training Company carried out an environmental audit of the facility in December, 2012 and concluded that patient treatment was outdated, while facilities were unwelcoming and institutionalised. This week, a spokesman for the Bermuda Hospitals Board confirmed that arrangements had finally been made to transfer Mr Caines to Summerhaven.

The spokesman insisted that the move was instigated by Mr Caines after he submitted a “formal request” to be transferred last year — and that the change was approved by hospital staff because “it is what Luke wants”.

However, a Royal Gazette investigation has raised questions about the BHB’s motives for having the long-serving patient moved. (See separate story). Hospital staff blocked attempts by this newspaper in the last five days to interview Mr Caines, saying that, although he “might have disabilities, he is still a person who has a right to privacy if he so wishes”.

A BHB spokesman said: “Luke’s disability has impacted his mental capacities. BHB is not in a position to approve an interview and cannot provide more personal details.”

However, this newspaper was able to meet up with Mr Caines yesterday when he made a visit to Summerhaven in preparation for his eventual move.

“I don’t like it that much at CCU — they do not treat you nicely down there; they don’t even take you outside,” he said. Explaining that he had been requesting a move “for years”, Mr Caines added: “I have been at CCU since I was a kid, but I’d rather stay at Summerhaven.

“That’s why I had to move. It’s much better here than the hospital. You get to see people, you get to know everybody around here. It’s a nice place.”

Mr Caines made similar remarks in an interview with the Bermuda Sun four years ago, when he expressed hope of eventually finding a new home “that isn’t so boring”.

Referring to his time at the CCU, he was quoted as saying: “It is what it is, I’ve been here since I was a little boy. I have no choice, there is nowhere else for me to go.”

Yesterday, a friend and frequent visitor of Mr Caines welcomed the impending move — and condemned conditions in which he had spent the last 40 years.

“Luke’s care has been awful and he has been in worse conditions in CCU than he would in Westgate,” the friend, who asked not to be named, said.

“He needs physiotherapy but as I understand it, not medical care.

“He has not been happy in CCU, but he’s been kept in CCU, missed years of education, given minimal stimulation and nothing but pictures to colour in.

“What legal rights does a patient in hospital have? Is it illegal to deprive them of contact with visitors? Is it legal to confine Luke to a locked ward? I am convinced that Luke has the potential for a quality of life and happiness far beyond the Continuing Care Unit.

“It is hard to overlook the impression that he has served 40 years of incarceration for no crime except that of being unloved.”

Summerhaven Trust chairman John Powell also expressed confidence that Mr Caines will be happier in his new home and that the CCU had not been a suitable environment.

“He came here on an earlier visit and as soon as he came in, he recognised some of the other residents that he went to school with,” Mr Powell said. “His face just lit up. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit and, when it came to an end, he didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want to go back to CCU. He expressed wishes to move to Summerhaven permanently and we are more than glad to have him.”

Dr David Harries, Chief of Geriatric, Rehabilitative and Palliative Care at KEMH, said in a statement that added that Mr Caines was “very much part of the CCU family”.

“Luke has been a much loved resident at CCU for 40 years, and very much part of the CCU family,” he said.

“We hope Luke has felt loved and well cared for while at CCU, but this is a question only he can answer.

“Certainly, we respected his wish to move when he raised it for the first time last year. We understand there are personal reasons behind his request, which we respect, and which are not for BHB to make public.

“All the staff who have cared for him over many years at CCU wish him the very best.”