Star date: 29th November 2016

NEW SAFETY RULES FOR SCOOTERS ANGER ELDERLY AND DISABLED RESIDENTS

"It's diabolical, what they are asking..." Salix tenant

Salix Homes has brought in new safety rules for owners of mobility scooters which, on the surface, seem quite reasonable. However, elderly and disabled residents are saying that the company is discriminating against them, and that many will be left housebound by the new edict.

Full details here...

Recently, Salix Homes brought out a new Home Safety Guide booklet for residents, with conditions for the acceptance of mobility scooters in its properties, stating that they are a fire hazard if not stored and charged correctly.

The booklet adds that scooters can't be stored in communal areas, only in homes where there is sufficient space and where they are not obstructing access. Meanwhile, charging the scooters can only be carried out during the day and inside people's own homes.

It all looks perfectly reasonable on the surface, but elderly and disabled residents are saying that it will massively affect their lives, leaving many housebound if the rules are strictly enforced.

They argue that most Salix flats in towerblocks and apartment blocks are not DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) compliant and that there just isn't space within homes to store the scooters without blocking access.

When similar rules were brought in within other boroughs, arrangements were put in place to help tenants. Stockport Council offered an individual risk assessment "to identify the safest and most practical storage solution for Stockport Homes customers who own mobility scooters"...

...Darlington Council stated that managers would "ensure that there is adequate space for all mobility vehicles to remain". Salix Homes, however, appears to be offering no alternatives, except a visit to reinforce the rules.

"This is affecting an awful lot of people with scooters, most of them elderly or disabled" says Sharon Hooley, a Salix tenant and independent disabled activist "It looks to me like they are discriminating against mobility scooter users.

"They are saying that there has to be enough space to store the scooters but hundreds of elderly and disabled people are living in buildings that are not suitable for them; that haven't got enough space to store them.

"Their only means of getting out is a mobility scooter" she adds "I use a scooter if my powered wheelchair breaks down and it has to go in the hallway because I can't leave it outside."

Sharon also says that the new rules only apply to scooters and not powered wheelchairs, even though they are more or less the same, and takes issue with the edict that scooters cannot be charged overnight, only during the day...

"How do you charge a scooter during the day when you're using it?" she asks "There's never been a case of scooters blowing up, it has 22 mechanisms to make sure. They are more than safe and there's no reason to put that in there."

Her sentiments are echoed by Gerald Pearson, an elderly gentleman who has a heart condition and arthritis, and uses his scooter almost every day... "Scooters need to be charged at night" he insists "How can we charge them during the day when we use them? It's diabolical, what they are asking."

Sharon adds: "It takes five years to get a power chair from NHS so, in the meantime, how does a disabled person become mobile? They have to buy a scooter. By putting in all these rules without solutions, Salix is discriminating against them."

The Citizens Advice Bureau leaflet `Renting from a social housing landlord' states that every tenant has `the right not to be treated unfairly by your landlord because of your disability....'.

"If they are going to impose these rules, Salix needs to find suitable homes for people" Sharon concludes "because people at the moment don't have appropriate homes."

The Salford Star asked Salix Homes for a comment but the housing company never responded.