Put us in a home that’s best for Lili
THE parents of a baby who needs open heart surgery fear their child’s life is being put at risk by housing chiefs who want to put them in accommodation miles away from relatives they rely on.
Matthew Wilcox and Amy Roberts lived in Llanrug until February, but lost their home when their landlord put it up for sale.
Their baby, Lili, who was born in April and has Down’s syndrome, needs surgery and the couple are desperate to be rehoused back in Llanrug from Caernarfon, where they are now.
They say they need to be close to their family support network, but, despite interventions from doctors, the Down’s Syndrome Association and their other daughter’s school, the council says it believes they should remain in Caernarfon.
In a letter to the couple, housing chiefs say “by the time another property becomes available” in Llanrug, their daughter “will have had her heart surgery (and will) hopefully be less likely to need emergency intervention”.
But 33-year-old public sector worker Mr Wilcox said expecting lab worker Ms Roberts, who suffers from anxiety, to travel four miles on a bus every day to see family – as suggested by the council – is not viable.
He also questioned how the council could know better than the experts about their baby’s future health.
Mr Wilcox said: “Not even the doctors can say whether Lili will be OK after surgery, so how does the council know? And how do they expect Amy to get a bus if Lili’s feeding tube comes out, for example, and she needs to take her to hospital? She would need to drop our two-year-old off at her dad’s first, and then jump on a bus to the hospital.
“The service from Caernarfon to Llanrug has also been reduced to one every hour - and that’s if it turns up. And what if Amy has an anxiety attack on the way? They’re not recognising mental health as a disability. It’s been a very difficult time for us.”
A final decision was made by the council, who said the case will not be reopened unless their circumstances were to change, or if “significant new information was submitted”.
In a letter to Mr Wilcox and Ms Roberts on June 22, the council, said: “Having carefully considered the submissions made I am satisfied that the property is suitable for your needs, and that of your household, and reasonable for you to accept.”
Mr Wilcox added: “I have provided them with everything I can, and they have ignored everything. They are supposed to take all this evidence into account, and they’re not.
“We fail to see how a letter from the Down’s Association cannot be classed as substantial new evidence. What would be classed as substantial new evidence? We have already provided supporting doctors letters.”
He has since filed a formal complaint, and is awaiting a response from the council.
Arfon AM, Siân Gwenllian, who has been corresponding with Gwynedd council on behalf of Mr Wilcox and Ms Roberts, said: “This is a very stressful and anxious situation for the family and I have been assisting them in trying to find a solution.”
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We recognise that it can be a challenging process to find social housing as the demand outstrips supply. However, as a council, we would make every effort to work with applicants to find an appropriate property which would meet an individual or family’s needs.”