Council’s help for hoarders
Initiative is first of kind in Scotland
Councillors unanimously agreed to introduce a strategy to support compulsive hoarders this week.
The new protocol, passed by elected members on Perth and Kinross Council’s housing and health committee on Wednesday, is the first of its kind in Scotland.
The plan will be introduced across the region and will see frontline staff given specialist, in-depth training to identify and deal with people living with the issue.
It also aims to train staff on how to deal with hoarders who refuse to address the issue by creating a “person-centred approach”.
The council’s housing service, community care, Scottish Fire and Rescue, community mental health teams and NHS Tayside will all receive the proposed training.
It comes after the local authority’s housing service team said it found it challenging to deal with tenants who were compulsive hoarders.
The committee’s report identified compulsive hoarding as a standalone mental disorder separate from obsessive compulsive disorder.
It also emphasised this does not include people who simply like to collect things, or people who are generally messy – stating compulsive hoarding is not a “lifestyle choice”.
Committee vice-convener, Councillor Kate Howie, praised the housing service’s forward-thinking approach.
She said: “This is a very innovative approach to a sensitive issue, and the first of its kind in Scotland, so well done to housing development for recognising it as an issue, but also for involving many agencies at such an early stage.”
Various points regarding mental health were raised at the meeting, causing committee convener, Cllr Dave Doogan, to interrupt proceedings when a number of specific cases were discussed in the chamber, and after Cllr Elspeth Maclachlan referred to hoarders as “ill rather than criminals”.
Cllr Doogan stated: “To get things clear, can we please desist from mentioning certain cases and there is no inference of criminal behaviour [in the paper]. It is important this is dealt with sensitively”.
Cllr Maclachlan defended her choice of words by replying: “sometimes the individuals feel that way.”
This was then backed up by Cllr Peter Barrett who said: “I think the councillors deal with the paper so it is legitimate for them to ask questions which are absent from the report.” However he concluded his comments to say he found the report to be a good paper.
The report highlights how hoarders often obsessively collect old clothes, newspapers, food containers and papers.
It also goes on to highlight how the hoarding of animals can become an issue as it often leads to an inability to provide minimal standards of care.
Data hoarding, where people compulsively hoard digital data and electronic storage equipment, is also covered in the document.
It is hoped this new move will help support council house tenants to sustain their own home, and to protect the physical attributes of a given property.