A 70-year-old osteoporosis sufferer was told by Fife Council she was too young to be a priority to get her broken boiler fixed.
And the warning from Margaret Reid’s local councillor, who stepped in after she was left without any heating since last Sunday, was simply: ”don’t grow old in Fife”.
Mrs Reid discovered she had no heating or hot water in her Kelty home last Sunday afternoon. Her concerned family, knowing she needs to keep warm as she suffers from arthritis as well as osteoporosis, contacted the council.
However, granddaughter Michelle Jones was shocked by the response that her gran was not an emergency case.
”They advised that it was not an emergency as she was under 77 years old,” Michelle said. ”I feel that the way they have dealt with this matter is disgraceful because you cannot assess the importance of a situation based on someone’s age.”
When the family called the day after the boiler had broken they were told that someone may come out, up to 5pm, and then if no one appeared it could be switched to the emergency service.
No one arrived and, to add to the frustration the family felt, Michelle claimed the council had advised to buy heaters for the house where Mrs Reid sat shivering in the recent cold snap.
”Where will she get the money to do that with and why should she have to when she pays rent and council tax?” her granddaughter said.
Michelle said she’d gone to Lochs councillor Alex Rowley ”as a last resort” as she was so worried about her gran living in such a chilly house.
Staff were out on Tuesday to get the heating restored, but Mr Rowley has already written to the council’s chief executive to submit a formal complaint on behalf of the pensioner.
”This lady is a loyal council tenant of 70 who has an illness that is not helped by the cold,” he said. ”The last two nights have been very cold, going below freezing, and yet no one seems to be bothered that this lady has been left without any heating.
”It’s amazing that it takes me to launch a formal complaint before they do anything for this lady of 70.”
Fife Council’s senior housing manager Alan Russell told The Courier: ”We’re very sorry that Mrs Reid has been left in any discomfort. This should not have happened and one of our engineers has fixed her heating this morning.
”If someone is left without any heating at all, our engineers should be on site within 24 hours, and it’s also standard practice to offer a loan of electric fan heaters, which the council would pay for.
”We’re investigating why this didn’t happen on this occasion and we will either provide staff more training or alter our procedures so that this doesn’t happen again.
”I’m glad Councillor Rowley brought this to our attention so that we could fix the problem.”
Mr Rowley added: ”Fife has always, over the years, prided itself on the kind of support and services and care it takes of those who have given all their lives to our communities. Sadly this is being torn apart in this current council and the message is don’t grow old in Fife.”