Victory!
After 18 months of getting nowhere with care funding or a CHC referral, after our tweeting to shame Islington council, overnight Alex’s care funding was agreed and they were referred to CHC as well.
Thank you to everyone who took part in this campaign by emailing and tweeting to Islington Council. This just goes to show that when we take collective action we can win our battles for individual people to get the rights that should be theirs by default.
The larger battles over welfare reform and independent living take longer but the principle is the same, when we take strong collective action, we can bring about positive change.
Alex is severely disabled. They are bedbound 90% of the time, unable to use their hands or feet, and have life threatening hemiplegic migraines, which cause: stroke-like symptoms, paralysis, seizures, slurring, loss of consciousness, and can lead to coma and death. They are in excruciating pain, suffer asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and have gait abnormalities in their hands and feet.
Islington Council’s Occupational Therapy assessed Alex and referred them for a ground-floor, wheelchair-accessible flat in the local area for their support network and GP catchment area. The OT also referred Alex for an electric wheelchair.
Islington Council refuse to give Alex’s rehousing a Category A priority (which is intended for “households where a member of the household has an immediately life-threatening or progressive condition which is seriously affected by their current accommodation.”)
As of December 2016, Alex has spent 7/8 months fighting the council over rehousing and 18 months fighting social services for DPS care.
This video shows the severe problems Alex has leaving and accessing their flat as this involves a hallway and three flights of stairs.
It is utterly incomprehensible that Islington Council has left this individual in such inadequate housing for his needs. It beggars belief that Islington Council could even consider refusing his application. Alex so obviously needs step-free access accommodation to deny or prevent this is tantamount to cruelty and a violation of his rights as a human being.
It is a total derogation of duty that Islington council has left this man in this state, knowing his condition and the debilitating symptoms he experiences. His is obviously someone in true need and I urge you to settle his case with an abode suitable for his needs.
Where is your humanity. To those who work in Islington Council how can you live with yourselves. You are human, show your humanity.
It seems Councils have no empathy, caring or consideration for disabled people. This case is disgusting, immoral, unjust, against all human rights and inhumane. It really is beyond belief. Why is this case not in the media? Because the media are puppets of the Conservative party. This Council should be brought before the Haig for despicable treatment of this disabled person. Someone please make the bold step and instigate procedings against Islington Council for it’s blatent discrimination and lack of “Duty to care for disabled persons”. These Council officials have no concience, no heart and are 100% evil.
Sadly the UN’s ruling that the UK government is guilty of ‘grave and systematic’ violations of the human rights of the disabled was considered low priority to many papers and of no interest to the rest of them. Most of these single, appalling stories get ignored as well.
Shame on Islington council. As someone who lives hundreds of miles away and wouldn’t ordinarily know the names of individual councillors, why am I not surprised to see the name of Cllr Richard Watts? He appears to spend his life single handedly violating disabled people’s rights.
Richard Watts – you are a disgrace as a human being and as a member of the Labour Party. Sort this out and give Alex some quality of life.