disabled bungalow

my daughter is disabled and i am in a local authority three bedhouse, given to me before i had my daughter. i badly need a three bed bungalow as a matter of urgency, my daughter almost died from a fall down the stairs recently. i told my local authority i need a bungalow as soon as possible and have given medical evidence of this.

i have been told it could take two years. i simply cant wait that long. is there any way i can hurry them up?

My daughter has severe respiratory problems, hence the need of a bungalow, she may need to carry around (or pull ) oxygen tanks in the very near future. Im not looking for a bungalow because she fell down te stairs, the reason is her medical condition.

Have you tried contacting any of your local Councillors to see if they can do anything to help?

I'm sorry to hear about the circumstances regarding your daughter and appalled that the delay could be that long, given the seriousness of your situation.

Who are your local councillors and TD's? Contact them all and give them copies of the council communications and the medical reports and state your case to them face-to-face.

Highlight the issue to your local community nurse, HSE specialist / consultant, care group manager and tell them what the council have said. Ask about home help, respite care (for yourself) and any / all supports they are funded to supply.

Talk to your local social work team-leader (HSE) and explain that you want your daughter living at home but the configuration of your current home militates against her safety. Be careful here as "child safety" or "child at risk" may convey a different message to the one you want to communicate.

Talk to the local papers and radio stations, ring the bould Joe Duffy, be the ultimate pain in the politicians' rear-ends and ask family and friends to support you in the talking, writing and phoning.

If you or your daughter have a local or national support group ask for their help as they may have access to people or areas which you may struggle to get in touch with.

In short, ask everyone and anyone to help, but you will have to be persistent and insistent and don't expect that the bureaucratic wheels will grind much more quickly.

HTH.

thanks so much for the replies. i contacted a local councillor who said he would speak to the council which he did. he said they would keep a close eye out for something suitable and possibly build a bungalow in a new estate where they hadnt even started to build. i went out to the site where they said they might possibly build one for her, and each of the 16 houses are two storey with steps to the front door, so no bungalow there. i phoned the council again and was told there are 900 people on the housing list and i wasnt the only one!
i phoned the councillor again , and havent heard from him in about 5 weeks.
i applied for domicilliary care allowance for my daughter, in may 2007, i was hurried through the process initially very quickly, then it took until september 2007 for a letter to say i was turned down !!

my daughter has a condition where around 10 children in this country might have it, and i really think i was turned down as the doctors who made the decision to turn the application down, have very little knowledge of the condition.

i appealed this decision in the middle of january (it took that long to gain medical evidence from consultants ,doctors, public health nurses, etc.

i have phoned each week since to find out whether i have won my appeal, and the most recent response was " well our doctor who makes the decisions only works two days a week " !!!

i am owed around 10000 euro now in arrears from carers allowance, respite care allowance and domicilliary allowance, and the allowance i am on expires at the beginning of april so i will have no income and two children to feed, aswell as no less than three appointments in the hospital 40 miles away in april.

havent a clue what to do next.

Have you contacted the local Community Welfare Officer as it sounds like you have a genuine case for emergency / hardship funding?

no i havent , i contacted him about two months ago for a form for diet allowance for my daughter, ( she has severe reflux, everything needs liquidising), but i never heard a word back. I did ask at the time aqout even getting a travel allowance for going to hospital, i have a car, i pay for it with my child benefit, 320 per month, just to help with diesel costs, but he said they no longer help with travel expenses and that i must use the ambulance service. A special bus leaves our town daily and drives to each hospital, so numerous patients on each us. this is not an option as my daughter has one lung and every sickness she gets damages her lung. she can not be near anyone who is sick, when my son is sick i have to separate them both.

im at the stage where i keep having dreams that ill have to put her in a plastic bubble!!!!!

You should get a stair gate in the meantime. It's not a big job and might prevent a repeat of the accident.

Slightly off topic but this always gets me. What are others opinions on people who get a house given to them and then complain that that house is not suitable.

Don't mean to have a pop at the original poster btw.

I remember I used to read in the newspaper (can't remeber which) people trying to trade with other people their council houses. I'm not sure if it is still the case or if it is still allowed.

as stated the house was given to me before i had my daughter, i didnt know she would be born disabled. i have two stair gates it was faulty bannisters that she fell through

topsido,
i think that can still be done, my only problem is that there are hardly any council bungalows

nairb,

little bit insensitive on your part, yes im complaining the house is unsuitable now, but i did not know my daughter was going to be disabled so when i accepted the house it was suitable at the time . just like to clarify that.

liketoknow,

Apologies if it was insensitive. Would the simplest solution be to get the faulty banister fixed? I have stair gates that are very secure in my home, can hardly open them myself.
If the council are not responding then at least you'd have peace of mind till you get the house you want.

i cant afford to fix them , i asked the council 2 weeks ago to fix them , they said they would send someone up asap. no one came. my house is split level. front door leads to sitting room , kitchen then down 15 steps to bedrooms, totally unsuitable for carrying around a disabled child, bathroom is downstairs, so back down when she needs changing. total night mare

liketoknow said:

i cant afford to fix them , i asked the council 2 weeks ago to fix them , they said they would send someone up asap. no one came.

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You could easily grab some wood from a skip and do a temporary DIY job at next to no cost. Probably not pretty but most likely effective as a temporary measure.

liketoknow said:

topsido,
i think that can still be done, my only problem is that there are hardly any council bungalows

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Many councils would have bungalows available for elderly people. Is there anything like this in your area?

hi,
yes there are , but i was told my daughter doesnt qualify for this as they are kept only for the elderly

liketoknow said:

hi,
yes there are , but i was told my daughter doesnt qualify for this as they are kept only for the elderly

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Your local authority has a formal complaints procedure. You should find details on their website. If you submit a formal complaint that they are not meeting your needs, it might bring some more attention on your case.

Look for written responses on things like the bungalows for the elderly, as I'd guess that this policy of keeping these reserved for the elderly has no formal basis.

If you still don't get a satisfactory response to your complaint, you can then refer it to the Ombudsman.

I have noticed people advertising to 'swap' council houses on www.gumtree.ie - it's a long shot but you never know??

thanks complainer and cheeus, ill look into those

Hope you can get some help from everyone's replies.