Trapped: the OAPs stuck in their flats since Christmas Eve (From Bournemouth Echo)
When news happens text pix and video to 80360. Start your message with BE then leave a space.
Trapped: the OAPs stuck in their flats since Christmas Eve
9:00am Wednesday 9th January 2013 in News By Juliette Astrup
Sheila Trasker and her daughter Sylvia Debnam
ELDERLY residents of a sheltered housing block have been trapped in their homes since before Christ-mas, due to a broken lift.
The lift at the four-storey Dalcross House in Ashley Road stopped working on December 20.
Since then many of the elderly and disabled residents of the 38 flats – including a 76-year-old woman recovering from a knee replacement – have been stranded, unable to manage the stairs.
It was repaired for one day on Christmas Eve – but has been out of action ever since. Now, almost three weeks on, residents are struggling to keep their cupboards stocked and suffering depression and isolation.
Among those worst affected is Sheila Tasker, 76, who returned home from hospital on Christmas Eve, when the lift was temporarily working, following knee surgery.
Apart from Christmas Day when her family managed to get her out – she hasn’t left the flat.
She has had to cancel three physiotherapy sessions, stalling her recovery – but, against the advice of her doctors, she will have to tackle four flights of stairs on crutches again to attend a vital session this week, almost a month after her operation.
“I’m getting a bit depressed at the moment,” she told the Echo. “I haven’t been out of the flat since Christmas day – they don’t think about that do they?”
Her daughter Sylvia Debnam said she was “fuming” and described the situation as “absolutely disgusting.”
“Everyone has been isolated over Christmas-time and had to make do with what little food they had,” she added.
“People have got to get to hospital appointments, but they just can’t make it down the stairs.”
She has delivered food hampers to her mum and neighbours, and praised the warden and more mobile residents who had been “up and down helping everyone” but added: “I think enough is enough – something must be done.
“I know it’s been Christmas time – but there should be something in place.
“There’s been no communication either – all there is is a note stuck up on the lift. I don’t think they’ve really been looked after.”
The flats are managed by Raglan Housing Association.
Regional housing manager Maxine Hartwell said its lift contractor attended Dalcross House on December 20, 25 and 28 .
“On each occasion they left the scheme with the lift working.
“However, on the last visit it was detected that the lift had an intermittent fault which was difficult to find and therefore new parts were ordered.
“Due to the parts not being available in this country and the Christmas break, the delivery time has been delayed.
“However, the parts are due to arrive this week and the lift contractor will install immediately.
“We hope to have the lift back in full working order by the end of the week.
“While the lift has been put back in working order for the time being, it is possible that it will break down until the new parts are fitted.
“The lift contractor will therefore call in to the scheme every day to check it.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused to our residents.”
Comments(18)
rozmister
says...
9:49am Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais wrote:Raglan are a social housing provider so they will have been affected by the cost cutting - their funding from the government will have been reduced. That doesn't excuse the fact they haven't fixed the lift but if you did a bit of research you'd know cost cutting does affect the housing sector; especially providers of social housing such as Raglan.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
When Raglan installed their lifts in this building one of their considerations should have been availability of parts for repairs. Having people trapped in their home for this long simply isn't good enough especially when they may need to collect food and prescriptions.
oneshortleg
says...
10:02am Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais wrote:It is hardly Raglan's fault that the uk doesn't manufactuer anything anymore, if you need a car part these days if its not on the shelf it has to be ordered usually from abroad.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
The regional manager said the lift company had been out and was dealing with it, what else can they do, if it was reported not working in the meantime all the people had to do was phone and it would be mended. Perhaps as in most cases people moaned about it, but did anyone ring Raglan to say it had broken again, or more likely did they just moan and say"Why should I bother, they didn't fix it last time"
For the record I am a Raglan tenant have had service engineers out at all hours and on Christmas day, and think Raglan does an excellent job.
B.F.G
says...
10:03am Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais wrote:How naive, you can't just click your fingers and expect unusual or rare parts for a lift to appear overnight.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
There is always three stages to a repair -
Engineer to diagnose fault
Engineer to order parts
Engineer to return and fit parts
This applies to a toaster, a tv or a lift.
Something bespoke like a lift is always going to entail a delay whilst parts are procured.
Perhaps Raglan could have had a contingency plan in place? (maybe they did and it has not been reported?)
mysticalshoelace
says...
10:12am Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais
says...
10:25am Wed 9 Jan 13
B.F.G wrote:How foolish. A lift for old people is a lifeline. Lift parts are not rare,, especially those under contract to be maintained.
l'anglais wrote:How naive, you can't just click your fingers and expect unusual or rare parts for a lift to appear overnight.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
There is always three stages to a repair -
Engineer to diagnose fault
Engineer to order parts
Engineer to return and fit parts
This applies to a toaster, a tv or a lift.
Something bespoke like a lift is always going to entail a delay whilst parts are procured.
Perhaps Raglan could have had a contingency plan in place? (maybe they did and it has not been reported?)
These residents are paying a monthly maintenance charge to Raglan, who engage in a contract with the lift maintenance company.
Not the TV or toaster repairer a lift repairer!
Is it really to much to expect that if one is contracted to maintain something and receives payment to do so in advance, then should have the spare parts (not necessarily in stock) but within 48 hours reach.
Having worked in a maintenance environment, and knowing that contractually we were obliged to provide a spare parts list for every item under contract. Spares could be ordered by the engineer within the hour and delivered within 24 hours in emergency situations, which clearly this was.
Where there is a will there is a way, unless you are a uncaring profit making housing association.
jeebuscripes
says...
10:35am Wed 9 Jan 13
If this was a company that intended to make profits then you can bet your **** there would be the spare parts they needed to run an efficient and successful business.
speedy231278
says...
10:44am Wed 9 Jan 13
polblagger
says...
10:48am Wed 9 Jan 13
This intrigued me, when my mother in her 70's had a knee replacement, every health professional she dealt with urged her to undertake exercise, particularly stairs, as soon and as regularly as possible.
Parkstonegal
says...
1:00pm Wed 9 Jan 13
What would happen if a fire ever broke. The firebrigade would never be able to get them all out!!!
B.F.G
says...
1:29pm Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais wrote:You are obviously hard of thinking, but I doubt anybody keeps a full set of spares sat on a shelf for a 30+ year old lift.
B.F.G wrote:How foolish. A lift for old people is a lifeline. Lift parts are not rare,, especially those under contract to be maintained.
l'anglais wrote:How naive, you can't just click your fingers and expect unusual or rare parts for a lift to appear overnight.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
There is always three stages to a repair -
Engineer to diagnose fault
Engineer to order parts
Engineer to return and fit parts
This applies to a toaster, a tv or a lift.
Something bespoke like a lift is always going to entail a delay whilst parts are procured.
Perhaps Raglan could have had a contingency plan in place? (maybe they did and it has not been reported?)
These residents are paying a monthly maintenance charge to Raglan, who engage in a contract with the lift maintenance company.
Not the TV or toaster repairer a lift repairer!
Is it really to much to expect that if one is contracted to maintain something and receives payment to do so in advance, then should have the spare parts (not necessarily in stock) but within 48 hours reach.
Having worked in a maintenance environment, and knowing that contractually we were obliged to provide a spare parts list for every item under contract. Spares could be ordered by the engineer within the hour and delivered within 24 hours in emergency situations, which clearly this was.
Where there is a will there is a way, unless you are a uncaring profit making housing association.
You don't know the SLA's and neither do I, but why let the facts get in the way of a good opportunity to bash a housing association?
l'anglais
says...
1:44pm Wed 9 Jan 13
B.F.G wrote:The service agreement normally stipulates, in thicko pidgin inbred dialect , to assist your basic incomprehension, " Fix it quickly".
l'anglais wrote:You are obviously hard of thinking, but I doubt anybody keeps a full set of spares sat on a shelf for a 30+ year old lift.
B.F.G wrote:How foolish. A lift for old people is a lifeline. Lift parts are not rare,, especially those under contract to be maintained.
l'anglais wrote:How naive, you can't just click your fingers and expect unusual or rare parts for a lift to appear overnight.
Would someone ask Raglan if the residents will receive a refund of their maintenance charges.
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.
There is always three stages to a repair -
Engineer to diagnose fault
Engineer to order parts
Engineer to return and fit parts
This applies to a toaster, a tv or a lift.
Something bespoke like a lift is always going to entail a delay whilst parts are procured.
Perhaps Raglan could have had a contingency plan in place? (maybe they did and it has not been reported?)
These residents are paying a monthly maintenance charge to Raglan, who engage in a contract with the lift maintenance company.
Not the TV or toaster repairer a lift repairer!
Is it really to much to expect that if one is contracted to maintain something and receives payment to do so in advance, then should have the spare parts (not necessarily in stock) but within 48 hours reach.
Having worked in a maintenance environment, and knowing that contractually we were obliged to provide a spare parts list for every item under contract. Spares could be ordered by the engineer within the hour and delivered within 24 hours in emergency situations, which clearly this was.
Where there is a will there is a way, unless you are a uncaring profit making housing association.
You don't know the SLA's and neither do I, but why let the facts get in the way of a good opportunity to bash a housing association?
Spare parts do not need to be off the shelf these days, Fed Express, TNT, UPS etc.. do a great job.
As for the 30+ year old lift, if the company receives payment for a maintenance contract, then it should ensure in advance that all parts are still available.
Rich1978
says...
1:52pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Just reading through the story and I am most fond of the comment:
"residents are struggling to keep their cupboards stocked and suffering depression and isolation"
Just a few thoughts - Home delivery? Delivery drivers will carry items at the stairs - even 4 floors!!! Despite the lift issues the doctor has been able to get in and diagnose depression?
I appreciate in some cases the family may not be local, but they could always help more............
l'anglais
says...
1:53pm Wed 9 Jan 13
jeebuscripes wrote:Fool
Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations.
If this was a company that intended to make profits then you can bet your **** there would be the spare parts they needed to run an efficient and successful business.
It's not the housing association that maintains the lift.
Maintenance companies do not keep spares off of the shelf, they rely upon specialist stockists.
They couldn't stock every spare of every lift now could they.
They'd soon go out of business.
jeebuscripes
says...
2:05pm Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais wrote:A fool?
jeebuscripes wrote:Fool
Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations.
If this was a company that intended to make profits then you can bet your **** there would be the spare parts they needed to run an efficient and successful business.
It's not the housing association that maintains the lift.
Maintenance companies do not keep spares off of the shelf, they rely upon specialist stockists.
They couldn't stock every spare of every lift now could they.
They'd soon go out of business.
I never mentioned that the housing association maintained the lift.
I never mentioned anything about maintenance companies keeping spares on a shelf.
Reread what I did write.
I did say that the housing association was not-for-profit.
I did say that if it was a profit-led business then they would definitely have the things they needed.
L'anglais? More like l'imbécile.
l'anglais
says...
2:59pm Wed 9 Jan 13
jeebuscripes wrote:Connard.
l'anglais wrote:A fool?
jeebuscripes wrote:Fool
Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations.
If this was a company that intended to make profits then you can bet your **** there would be the spare parts they needed to run an efficient and successful business.
It's not the housing association that maintains the lift.
Maintenance companies do not keep spares off of the shelf, they rely upon specialist stockists.
They couldn't stock every spare of every lift now could they.
They'd soon go out of business.
I never mentioned that the housing association maintained the lift.
I never mentioned anything about maintenance companies keeping spares on a shelf.
Reread what I did write.
I did say that the housing association was not-for-profit.
I did say that if it was a profit-led business then they would definitely have the things they needed.
L'anglais? More like l'imbécile.
So you believe that companies that seek profit provide better service.
Putain, il n'y a pas plus con qu'un vieux con.
oneshortleg
says...
4:42pm Wed 9 Jan 13
Parkstonegal wrote:The problem is they probably don't want to move, these flats due to their position would probably offer those especially on the top floor enviable views of poole harbour and beyond. In fact the land is probably worth far more than Raglan has received in rent since it was built!
I'm sorry to say this but if there are that many elderly residents in this block of flats that can't use the stairs they should be moved somewhere else.
What would happen if a fire ever broke. The firebrigade would never be able to get them all out!!!
Tango Charlie
says...
6:25pm Wed 9 Jan 13
l'anglais says...
9:13am Wed 9 Jan 13
Maybe Raglan could also negotiate a contract with a company who provides all year round maintenance, with a guarantee that they have the spare parts available for the lifts they maintain.
It appears cost cutting doesn't just affect public services.