Broken lift leaves residents feeling 'caged'
BBCA disabled resident of retirement flats where the lift has been broken for several months says she feels "caged" and like a prisoner.
Lynda Wilkins, who has arthritis and COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], has been struggling to get in and out of Kings Gardens in Honiton since the fault stopped the lift working in September.
Remus Management, which provides services at the flats, installed four stairlifts as a temporary measure, but residents including Wilkins said they had not helped.
Remus said it regretted the disruption and while a replacement lift had been ordered, there had been an installation delay as it needed to be manufactured outside the UK.
Wilkins said: "The impact is that I don't go out - I'm caged, really, or in prison.
"They put the chairlifts in, but unfortunately they're very small and I do feel very uncomfortable. It's really hard to use them and it takes forever.
"I can't carry the shopping up and I can't bring the rubbish down.
"My rubbish sacks accumulate in the flat until I can get someone to take it down for me."
Other residents shared a sense of frustration, including Philip Porter who said it was "not what we signed up for".
"We sold our place, the wife and I, in Plymouth two years ago to get away from all the stairs within our little three bedroom house and now we're faced with this," he said.
"The wife doesn't leave the flat."
Dorothy Harris has had a hip replacement since the lift broke and two days after the operation, she faced the stairs to the top floor.
"I was a little apprehensive about it," she said.
"I hadn't done obviously any walking I just had an operation a couple of days prior and it was a little bit of an ordeal."
Chris Duffin, who has arthritis, said he had left the flat twice since September and it took him 30 minutes to get from his flat to his car.
Duffin said he was dissatisfied with Remus and felt the firm did not care about the residents.
He said: "They believe that we're too poor, too old, too tired to do anything about it and that we'll be dead before they need to spend any money."
Some residents said they were considering moving, with Roy Harris saying he felt "disappointed and frustrated".
He added: "I would never have moved here had I known the situation and I can't wait to get out."
Remus said it fully understood why residents felt upset and concerned by the issue and the length of time it was taking to resolve it.
"The delay is due to the lift needing to be manufactured outside of the UK," a spokesperson said.
"As this is a bespoke replacement for an ageing system, there are extended lead times for manufacture, shipping, and compliance checks.
"These factors are outside of our direct control, but we are in regular contact with the contractor to progress the installation as quickly as possible."
It added the safety and wellbeing of the property's residents remained a priority for the company.
Remus said it could not provide an exact date for delivery of the new lift and they "will continue to keep residents updated".
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