Council ordered to pay £11K to terminally ill resident ‘trapped’ in unsuitable flat for 20 months

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A council has been told to pay £11,000 to a terminally ill resident after she was left “trapped” in an unsuitable flat for over a year and a half.

Bromley council left the woman bedbound in a flat because it delayed finding her a suitable property at a time when she was counting down her remaining days after being given four months to live.

The woman, who uses a wheelchair and is called Miss X in the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman report, lived in an upstairs flat before being diagnosed with two terminal medical conditions in April 2021, the nature of the conditions was not disclosed.

She needed chemotherapy and dialysis to prolong her life, which they have subsequently done. Bromley council was reportedly told this by the hospital in July 2021.

Bromley council was told Miss X needed help with day to day activities. It was also told she needed an accessible ground floor property or one with a lift, as her current home was too narrow for a wheelchair and had left her bed bound.

The resident reportedly told the council in August 2021 that she had to be carried up and down the stairs in her current flat on a stretcher twice a week for dialysis.

Miss X’s MP then asked the council in October and November to give the resident an overview of her housing options. The council then placed Miss X’s application in the emergency band.

The resident’s doctor wrote to the council in March 2022 and said her current property was “significantly impacting” her mental health and dialysis treatment, while the resident herself felt “trapped”.

In response, the council said “it would appear that [Miss X] was bypassed for properties that she should have been considered for”.

The council apologised for its “human error” and made a direct offer to build a new wheelchair adapted unit for the resident within a week.

The resident told the council the property was too far from her family, who provided her with daily care. She said it was too small for her medical equipment, which was confirmed by the hospital.

The authority told the ombudsman that Miss X had declined two properties it offered her as they did not have a bath, and claimed there was no evidence a bath was a “medical necessity”.

Bromley council was instructed to apologise to Miss X and offer her £11,000 in recognition of the distress and harm caused, as well as for the 20 months she remained in an unsuitable property.

The authority was told to pay an extra £500 a month until she was rehoused.

A Bromley council spokesman said: “Unfortunately, it took a long time to find the complainant a suitable property due to an overwhelming lack of available accommodation that is either already suitable for applicants with physical health needs or could be made suitable.

“Thankfully, a suitable property has now been identified and accepted by the complainant. The council has cooperated with the Ombudsman’s investigation throughout, agreed with the final decision and has already apologised and made the requisite payment to the resident.”

Pictured top: Bromley Civic Centre, where Bromley council’s headquarters are currently based (Picture: Google Earth)