They’ve taken my dignity... & they don’t even seem to care

Patrick lost special equipment as louts drove him from home

vision and walking. I have arthritis as well and problems with my feet. “When I was moving out I never thought for a second that I wouldn’t be allowed to take these adaptations.

“As far as I was aware, they were there for me. So when I contacted Radius and said, ‘How do I arrange to take these with me?’ they said ‘Oh no, you can’t’.

“I immediately got on the phone to occupational therapy and they knew I needed them because they’ve got previous reports.

“I have had one of these toilets since from I was about eight years old so they assessed me and I got the landlady to agree to the work.”

Patrick said he was then sent a form to fill it out, after which the Housing Executive told him he would have to pay the full £10,000 cost of installing the bathroom equipment because of means testing.

He went on: “Then they apologised and said they got it wrong. Instead of me being responsible for the first £11,000, they said I’m responsible for the first £6,700.

“I earn just under £17,000 a year and get tax credits to top up my wage.

“They are saying that as a disabled person £17,000 isn’t enough to live off so here’s some extra money – then in the next breath they are saying if you want a toilet you have to give us £6,700.”

Patrick believes if he had been allowed to take the equipment in the beginning all his misery could have been avoided.

He said: “Not having that toilet has a major impact on me every single day.

“When I need to go to the toilet, I am dreading it and wonder how I am going to clean myself. I can get a family member to help me and I know they would do it in a heartbeat.

“But I am 39 years old and I can’t go back to asking people to help me to go to the toilet. It’s like they have taken away my dignity – and worse, it seems like they don’t care.”

Radius has since removed the toilet from Patrick’s old home.

A spokesperson for the organisation said: “Any fixtures which are structural amendments to the fabric of the building, such as bathroom fittings, are not portable and cannot be removed by a tenant upon the end of their tenancy.

“The toilet was initially left in place while other works were undertaken. However, following a new tenant taking up residence, it was later replaced based upon their circumstances.”

Patrick has written to the Depart