Disabled woman stuck in flat for seven weeks
‘NO ONE CARES, THEY DO NOT HAVE A HEART’ SAYS THE WHEELCHAIR
USER WAITING FOR LIFT TO BE FIXED
A DISABLED woman stuck in her West London flat for seven weeks because of a faulty lift says Ealing Council are “heartless”.
Sherry Karimi, 50, of Tintern Court, West Ealing needs around the clock care after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997.
She has used a wheelchair since she broke her back in 2003.
She first raised the issue with the council seven weeks ago when the lift stopped working, but only last Tuesday was someone sent around to take a look.
At first Ms Karimi was “really happy” the problem was being fixed, but then her carer delivered the devastating news the lift was still broken – it still only goes as far as the second floor.
She said: “I feel useless and it is not easy.
Ms Karimi has a phobia of living on the ground floor because of “bad memories”
“When I am alone at home I feel really bad and really sad – I cannot sleep and I feel really angry.
“I feel like I am blaming myself because they did not understand my English or something, they do not seem to get it. It’s always my fault and I am always blaming myself anyway.”
Ms Karimi said she has called the council everyday for the seven weeks without success, and despite last week promising to send an engineer, no one has turned up.
“No one came and no one cares, they do not have a heart,” she said.
“Every month they take money for the service, but the lift is not working – why are they taking money if I have been stuck here for seven weeks,” she added. She also felt council workers had not been understanding of her medical history, with some asking her why she had not moved to the ground floor.
Ms Karimi says she has a phobia due to “bad memories” of people looking through her window, something recorded in her doctor’s notes.
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Ms Karimi is a council tenant and that she has reported a problem with the lift.
“We have been in regular contact with her while we work to repair the lift, which we are doing as quickly as possible.
“We have offered her temporary accommodation in a local hotel
while the lift is out of action, which she has refused.
“Tintern Court is scheduled for demolition as part of a much wider regeneration project at the Green Man Lane estate.
“Ms Karimi has twice been offered a new home on the rebuilt estate, which she rejected. She has also rejected another ground floor council property.”