Fire Hazard!

[Maria Elizabeth Prior]

Yesterday, in the early evening, a fellow resident pointed out a really bad potential fire hazard in the basement, at the corners of Crescent and Hatfield House.  There were piles of thousands of newspapers that had been dumped, dating 16 years ago.  Really concerned I telephoned the out of hours phone number.  I went through to someone at Windsor House, but after explaining the situation I was told 'Sorry love, that's not on the list of emergencies'.  Apart from not wanting to be addressed in such a casual way, I could hardly see how this could not be classed as an emergency.  As we know there have been a few fires lit in the basements on the Estate, and it can be very dangerous.  As this person refused to help I contacted the police, who kindly notified the Cleansing Department.  

However, they could not get access to the basement, because of the barrier, so the police phoned me asking for the Windsor House Phone number.  They agreed that the person on call should have done something about it, as it was not really a police matter, but the Council's responsibility.  I was grateful for their help.  Eventually, 2 recycling lorries turned up, and it took about 6 men to clear the area.  Ian, from the Estate Office was called out to let them through the barrier, and I appreciate that as he was off duty.  This incident should be addressed by the City of London, and an explanation given why assistance was refused initially.  It is not up to residents to have to chase around getting assistance from elsewhere in an emergency.  It appears that we pay a lot of service charges for a now unsatisfactory out of hours service.  I trust this will be looked into.  

[nathan]

I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

[Linda]

Sadly a resident in CWH passed away last week, and i was informed that it was someone who was a hoader. I can't help but assume it is connected. I do not know any further details about the person, so best to contact the office for further information. 

[nathan]

I saw several police and paramedics attending last week, they made entry with an enforcer also known informally as "the big key", they were there for hours, I assumed it was a death. I also noticed walking past on the podium that the curtains of the the ground floor flat in CWH had been drawn even in the middle of the day in the heat for a few weeks, makes you wonder how long they had actually lay dead in the flat, and what state the body was in, and why nobody noticed, given the fact that Valerie a resident in Crescent house lay on her concrete floor in the cold for 5 days and nights before anyone noticed, and subsequently died through the ordeal and neglect.

I cant see them clearing the flat that quickly, or taking the hoard  all the way to the other end of Crescent house when there is a rubbish collection point right under CWH and at GAH which are closer, I could be wrong, maybe they wanted to keep the access to the leisure centre pretty for the patrons.

[Linda]

The poor resident was dead and undiscovered for a few weeks. May they rest in peace.

[nathan]

Just as I thought.

:-(

[Maria Elizabeth Prior]

What.  Someone lay dead for all that time, and nobody noticed anything?  That's terrible.  That poor person.  How could this happen?  As Nathan said, after Valerie's death, had thought nothing like this could happen again.  Its shocking.

As for the gigantic pile of newspapers, I was led to believe it came from somewhere in Hatfield House.  As for the shoddy way this emergency was handled, I am yet to hear of any explanation.  I would have thought, at least, that I would have been contacted as I went out of my way to try and sort it out, which was not my job to do.  

[nathan]

Body lay under sofa for 10 years in shared Bristol flat Alan Derrick was worried about being evicted A body lay undiscovered under a sofa in a sheltered flat in Bristol for nearly 10 years, an inquest has heard. The dead man, Dennis Pring, had been living with city council tenant Alan Derrick, who has learning difficulties. The inquest heard Mr Derrick did not want to tell the authorities that Mr Pring, 73, had died because he was worried he would be evicted. The coroner recorded an open verdict into Mr Pring's death at the hearing in Flax Bourton, near Bristol. Mr Pring is believed to have died at some point between April and June 1998. The inquest heard that he had been living in the flat unofficially. Mr Derrick, the dead man's friend and drinking partner, had invited him to stay there because he had nowhere else to go. But when he died suddenly, Mr Derrick panicked and worried that he might be evicted. A year after the death, a mobile council warden was called to inspect the flat after complaints of a terrible smell. Neighbours complained about the smell from the flat Sandra Wedlock told the court that she had walked by an overturned sofa at the property in the Bedminster area of the city without noticing the body underneath it. She put the source of the smell that neighbours had complained about down to an overflowing toilet and no further action was taken by the council. Mr Pring's skeleton was finally discovered by council cleaning staff in 2008 after Mr Derrick moved out of the property, the inquest heard. No criminal charges were brought against Mr Derrick. Residents groups said the case proves there is a need for more live-in wardens to supervise sheltered accommodation. Jon House, Bristol City Council's deputy chief executive, expressed his condolences and 'apologised unreservedly' to Mr Pring's family and the neighbours for the distress they suffered.  New protocols have been put in place to support vulnerable people, and large numbers of our staff have been trained accordingly  Jon House, Bristol City Council "I want to acknowledge that a more active intervention nine or 10 years ago, and a healthier dose of common sense, might have stopped Mr Pring lying undiscovered," he said. "Although, as was acknowledged in court, his body was actively concealed by the tenant. "What I think is most important now is that we demonstrate that we have long since learned from this experience. "New protocols have been put in place to support vulnerable people, and large numbers of our staff have been trained accordingly. "Although we'll continue to respect people's right to the quiet enjoyment of their home, where they are vulnerable and cannot cope (and in some cases cause a nuisance or health hazard to their neighbours), we will intervene as necessary to stop things spiralling out of control."

[nathan]

Disgust as vulnerable OAP's body lies undiscovered in squalid flat for a fortnight

Protest after vulnerable man’s body lies undiscovered in flat for up to two weeks

First published Thursday 30 October 2014 in News 
Last updated 08:57 Thursday 30 October 2014by Joe Riddle, Chief Reporter

ELDERLY and vulnerable people in sheltered council housing say the discovery of a man’s body in their block after he lay dead for up to a fortnight makes them fear for their safety.

Neighbours say their concerns about 73-year-old Christopher Smith – a vulnerable man once jailed for the manslaughter of his mother, who died of gross neglect – were ignored.

                

IT was in December 2010 that Christopher Smith was sentenced to two years for manslaughter after leaving his elderly mother to die at the home they shared in Netherhampton Road, Harnham.
His 90-year-old mother’s body has been found on the floor covered in vomit and excrement after neighbours raised the alarm.
Neighbours say Mr Smith had tried to feed his mother as she lay on the floor, but was not capable of making the correct decisions about how to care for her and should never have been jailed for her death.

Now they have sent a protest petition to Wiltshire bosses, describing the situation as “truly horrendous”.

Although Mr Smith had not been seen since September 23 and residents raised the alarm on September 29, it was not until October 6 that police finally entered the squalid flat in Norfolk Road, Harnham, and found his body on the floor.

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That same week, the Journal reported the story of another council tenant, Terence Blanchard, who was blind and had been found dead in his flat in Essex Square in May, after his body lay undiscovered for up to four months.

After Terence Smith’s death, Wiltshire Council’s ethical governance officer Roger Wiltshire said there were “lessons to be learnt including the recording of tenants’ needs and encouraging staff to see the tenant’s whole picture, age, needs, etc to help pick up cases where a tenant may be vulnerable.”

A council spokesman said Mr Smith had not been in the council’s care, despite being in the authority’s ‘sheltered’ housing.

“We are sorry to hear of this tragic situation,” he said.

“We always work with our partners to look into any concerns raised by family, friends or neighbours about people’s welfare.”

Wiltshire councillor for Harnham Brian Dalton said he was concerned residents’ pleas for help had been ignored.

He said: “The authorities should act on information such as this from worried residents, but in this case, they seem to have been brushed aside.”

The council has agreed to meet with residents at the scheme in November to discuss their concerns.

• MORE than 30 vulnerable elderly residents signed the petition, saying they were appalled by the “disgusting” situation.

They said they had questioned council staff about Mr Smith’s welfare at regular scheme meetings for more than 18 months, but had been told it was “all in hand”.

“It was obvious to all of us that something was terribly wrong, the smell from his flat was dreadful,” said resident Jan Richardson, 73.

Ken Connor, 79, lives at the scheme with his wife Janet, who has Parkinson’s disease, and said if he collapsed on the floor, his wife would not be able to help him.

“Are they going to treat us the same way?” he asked.

“If something happens to me at home is anyone going to bother to check up and find out why they haven’t seen me for 24 hours?”

Most of the flats in the scheme are occupied by people living alone.

Vera Read, 66, said: “It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.”

Ken Gregory, 85, said when he moved to the sheltered housing 15 years ago wardens used to check on residents daily.

If there was no answer, they would let themselves in to make sure everything was all right.

But after the wardens were scrapped and visiting was contracted out to private firms, he said the service had “gone downhill”.

“My take on sheltered housing is anyone living there has to be looked after,” he said.

[nathan]

It may be hard to achieve this with the number of short term lets and flats being let out on a night by night basis on websites such as AIRBNB.co.uk, not to mention the flats that lie unoccupied, three of which I am aware of close to me in Crescent house, I can only see the low occupancy rates on the estate increase. Difficult to achieve community cohesion when you don't know who your neighbour will be tonight, and the nature of society were old and vulnerable people quiet rightly have to be on their guard, and the withdrawal of social services I think this is only going to increase.

[Maria Elizabeth Prior]

It would be very much appreciated if the Estate Office did reply to my discussion, and the points I raised.  Am sure a lot of residents would find it helpful.  Many thanks.

[Maria Elizabeth Prior]

Sadly, when I raised this issue with the Estate Office I was informed I should complain using the City of London's Complaint Procedure.  Why?  Surely, it is common courtesy to receive an explanation without going through a lengthy complaints' procedure. What has happened to common sense, and things being made simple for residents?  

[David Graves (your Alderman)]

Dear Maria,

Although the circumstances are reasonably clearly set out above, can you please send me an e-mail (to: [e-mail]) setting out with as much detail as you can manage the interaction you had with the Estate Office (date/time/who you spoke to) and I will e-mail Jacquie Campbell suggesting she look into this with a view to providing additional staff training. Based on what you say, and bearing in mind I have only heard one side of the story, but based on what you say, I would agree with your reaction.