We live in Tomlin Court, Hook Road, Epsom. Because of the cuts, we have no warden cover whatsoever over the weekends or public holidays, and sometimes during week days as well, because our normal scheme manager can be called away to one or more of other local sheltered accommodation sites.

This means there are no early morning calls (which serve to check one's okay and still alive) over the weekends or bank holidays.

Recently a lady from the local church came to pick up a parishioner, who is 80s and infirm. This lady caller could not raise the person she'd come to get, and so, she made it known to other residents that the lady could not open the door but could be heard faintly to say, 'I can't move'. 

Eventually another concerned resident pulled her own alarm cord and suggested that this lady was in trouble and possibly required an ambulance.

The person on the other end of the cord (who I am led to believe is situated in Milton Keynes) said after making contact with the lady, "She's fine, she spoke to me, and she was in bed, so what do you want me to do about it?" 

He was told by the concerned resident that this lady would probably need an ambulance and so wanted one now as she understood that all was not right and she did not believe this lady was in bed.

Eventually, when the ambulance arrived, the crew having the code to the master key, opened the flat door and found the lady lying flat on her face in the living room, after suffering a fall.

The ambulance crew who went about the work in a really excellent way told the concerned resident that the lady had, from the evidence, been lying on the floor for around 36 hours.

She was eventually transported to hospital for treatment to carpet burns on her face, arms and knees.

The general consensus is that if she had remained there on the floor any longer, which would have been the Monday morning call, she could well have been dead.

This is just one of many incidents that occur in this and other facilities in Epsom, it is caused by having not enough staff to cover the out of hours periods.

The point is,  if this lady or anyone else should die as a result of lack of staff, who's fault would that be?

Article supplied by Anthony Perham