Man forced to call firefighters to get into bed

This week Michael Grayson’s furious mother said that Rotherham Borough

Council’s care services should be “ashamed” of their part in the two-hour saga during which Michael was left stranded at the side of his bed.

His two-hour ordeal started when the hoist, which he uses to get in and out of bed, broke down on Monday.

Michael, who suffers from cerebral palsy and only has the use of his left arm, was left in the lurch when staff at his sheltered housing accommodation clocked off at 10pm believing that a replacement hoist was on the way.

However, it never arrived  and a call for help to the council’s Rothercare service was rejected because, they said, the hoist was privately-owned and they had no mobile hoist.

The ambulance service said they were unable to help and so, in desperation, Michael called the fire brigade.

A team of five firefighters went to Michael’s home in Shaftsbury Square, St Ann’s, and the 40-year-old was finally lifted into bed at around midnight — two hours later than normal.

Asked whether the situation had caused him to lose faith in the emergency Rothercare buzzer he wears around his neck, Michael said: “It’s useless.”

He now faces a £200 callout charge from the fire brigade and an overtime bill for carers from the charity Rotherham Crossroads, who were unable to help because of health and safety restrictions but put other engagements on hold to stay with him.

Now his outraged mother, Denorah Whitnear, is furious at the council’s lack of support for her son.

Mrs Whitnear, of South Anston, said: “My son almost had to spend the night sat up in his wheelchair because his hoist wasn’t working and RotherCare were either unwilling or too ill-equipped to help.

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“It’s absolutely disgusting that they can put the phone down knowing that they are leaving a severely-disabled person in that situation.

“RotherCare are meant to help support some of the most vulnerable people in the town but if they can’t offer any help, what sort of a back-up is that for disabled people?

“They should be sued under the Trades Descriptions Act because, in this case, they didn’t seem to care at all.”

Michael pays Rotherham Crossroads to provide two carers who help him to bed by about 10pm instead of relying on  Grafton House staff who would put him to be bed as early as 8pm before clocking off at 10pm.

However, on Monday the usual routine was scuppered at around 9.45pm, however, when they found that the bed hoist in the council-run accommodation would not work.

Mrs Whitnear, who was on the phone to her son’s carers throughout the ordeal, said: “They contacted the complex’s on-site carers at Grafton House but they were leaving for the night.

“Michael only weighs around eight-and-a-half stones but the Crossroads staff cannot lift him due to health and safety laws.

“They called RotherCare for help but they were told that they couldn’t help because the lift was privately-owned and they had no mobile hoist so there was nothing they could do.

“The lift isn’t privately owned— Michael’s accommodation is council-run, but they refused to listen.

“Eventually they called the ambulance service but they said they couldn’t help because it was not a medical emergency and advised us to call the fire service.”

After a call to the fire service an officer came out to assess the situation before dispatching a crew to Shaftsbury Square.

Mrs Whitnear said: “It was a Godsend that they came but I can’t describe how let down we feel by the support services offered by the council. They were no support at all.”

The day after the incident the problem with the bed hoist was diagnosed as a blown fuse.

Mrs Whitnear said: “The electricity had gone off at some time during the evening and the staff at Grafton House did not realise that they had to press a reset button on their lifts. It was a simple oversight which caused a lot of distress.”

A spokewoman for the borough council said that the authority was very concerned to hear about the incident because any situation in which a customer experienced distress was regrettable.

She added: "The authority will obviously investigate the matter fully but early indications have revealed that the electric hoist was not sufficiently charged.

The Crossroads carers did an excellent job in trying to find alternatives in a situation where lifting was required.

“Unfortunately, individuals are not allowed to manually lift customers who normally use a hoist because of the associated risks to both themselves and the customer.”