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Thursday, November 20, 2008, 08:45
Money for the disabled facilities grants has run out in Torbay, but the number of people needing help is rising.
Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders has been contacted by concerned residents and has lobbied ministers for extra help for Torbay Council and Torbay Care Trust.
Lib Dem councillor Steve Darling is raising the issue at the next full council meeting. He has asked for an update and asks what the council is doing to bridge the gap in funding.
Mr Sanders said the Government has increased disabled facilities grants year on year way above inflation. Torbay adds another 60 per cent to the Government funding.
But the demand and the costs of equipment and adaptations are increasing far faster.
Mr Sanders said: "I am getting more and more cases of people in genuine distress who had gone through all the bureaucracy then find the funding isn't available.
"For many people it is things we take for granted like being able to get up and down stairs, or in and out of their chair, or go into another part of their house.
"I think Torbay could do more, but it is a national problem as people are living longer, and it is more likely they are to have complications.
"Someone somewhere must be saving money because of care being carried out in the community, but the money is not being put back into improving people's quality of life at home."
Cllr Darling, leader of the Lib Dem group, said: "Vulnerable people could be suffering through no fault of their own. The council needs to do all it can to ensure that people are only waiting for as short a time as possible for adaptations to their homes, which are essential."
Ronald Farr, 74, and his wife Beryl want to get the bathroom adapted at their home in Roundham Road, Paignton.
Mr Farr has been disabled since a childhood accident.
Now that he is getting older he was hoping for some extra help.
But 14 months on he is no nearer getting the work done.
"I am just resigned to my situation now," he said. "But I expect I am only one of a number of people in the same position.
"Only in recent times have I approached the local health system as my age and infirmity has increased.
"What I do consider a waste of time and expense is the number of visits I have had from various officers as part of the process. I have had five visits from physiotherapists for assessment, seen two financial representatives who assured me the money was available, and one architect.
"I am not whinging and whining. But this has been going on for 14 months."
Torbay Council said it was increasing the amount spent on the grants and helping more people.
A spokesman said the council is not turning anyone down and is approving cases within the six months allowed, but it is having to delay work for successful applicants as the funding for this year has either been spent or committed.
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