Fife Council has apologised to the family of a terminally ill man whose dignity was “violated by bureaucracy and red tape”.
The Courier was contacted by Susan Glover, 62, whose father, Ernest, 82, is dying from bowel cancer.
The family urgently needed an extra bin from the council to deal with his human waste they dispose of waste approximately every 15 minutes.
But after waiting nearly a week the family say they were “tied up” with red tape before the council finally acted. After several phone calls to Fife Council, Susan was given a form to fill out.
Due to the quantities involved, she has been travelling to a landfill site to dump her father’s waste while waiting for the council to act. But Susan, a teacher, decided enough was enough and contacted The Courier when the council said this week that before authorising the bin, it wanted to send someone to the house to see how vital it was.
Having chosen to provide care at home in Markinch, she said the council process had shamed the dignity of her once proud father, who worked as a shunter at Euston Station in London for 45 years.
It had also been upsetting for the whole family including Ernest’s wife Florence, 81 at an incredibly difficult time.
Susan, widowed four years ago, told The Courier: “My father has received absolutely excellent cancer treatment at the Victoria Hospital and Queen Margaret Hospital, excellent care from his GP practice, from the palliative care team, from the district nurses, from the Marie Curie and Macmillan nurses.
“He has been treated with the utmost compassion and respect during his illness, which is what we would all hope for towards the end of our lives, and it is uplifting after the appalling stories around the country of the mistreatment and abuse of the elderly,
“But this situation with Fife Council has been disgusting and a violation of my father’s dignity.
“It was the palliative care nurse who suggested we get a bin. Shouldn’t her word be good enough? Is it really necessary to send round a council official we’ve never met to see if the needs of my father in his final weeks are great enough? The way they have acted is inhumane.”
Susan added: “I expect an apology and a reassurance that in the future additional bins can be sanctioned in a more sensible manner when requested by professional people nursing the terminally ill.”
Martin Kingham, Fife Council service manager, waste collection, said: “I’m sorry for the distress this has caused the family. We received Ms Glover’s application last Wednesday and have now arranged for a bin to be delivered (on Tuesday).
“A visit is usually carried out as part of the application process and we’ll get the local team to contact Ms Glover and arrange a meeting with her, for a time that suits her, to make sure she’s satisfied.”