'No escape!': Walsall residents without lift at assisted living site for six weeks

The lift at Old Vicarage Close in Pelsall has been out of order since February 22, leaving some unable to leave their homes in weeks.

The site, which is formed of 59 flats, houses older people, with some visited by carers whilst others live independently.

Noleean Dyke has lived there for 16 months and uses a walking frame to get around.

However, tasked with four flights of stairs to leave the front door, the 73-year-old has been unable to independently leave her home, or walk her one-year-old Chihuahua, Cuddles, for six weeks.

The former care worker has been forced to clean her clothes in the sink due to the shared washing facilities being located on the ground floor and has four bags of dirty clothes to wash.

Whilst not the case for Noleean, she told the Express & Star that several residents on her floor are wheelchair users and so have no choice but to stay inside until the lift is fixed.

She said: "It is still the same, we can't get out, it is hopeless. Before I came here I was in a residential care home for two and a half years. I had to fight to get here and it feels like you are in prison.

"Okay, you can make your own food and drink, but at the same time you can only walk down the corridor and back to your room – there is no escape."

Noleean, who is from Ireland originally, has to ask loved ones to deliver her food shopping and has only left home for two days since the lift has been broken when a friend offered to take her on a trip away.

A spokesman for GreenSquareAccord, which runs Old Vicarage Close, said a senior technician had been on site and concluded the lift needed to be replaced, which it hopes to achieve within eight weeks.

He added: "Following a recent inspection it has become clear that the lift cannot be repaired because the part we need is no longer being manufactured.

“We are working closely with our supplier and contractor to get this work completed as quickly as possible. We have placed an order for a replacement lift, and we hope to have this installed within eight weeks."

He however assured the stair lift, which had also been out of order since February 22, was "fully functioning" as of Thursday.

The statement continued: "We wrote to all customers at Old Vicarage Close on March 28 to update them on the situation and we remain in regular contact with them.

"While the lift is out of action we will be providing additional staff on site to offer support to customers based on their individual needs.”

Noleean however claims the stair lift is not working efficiently.

She said: "The stair lift does work but you have to send someone down the stairs to put the seat down and the foot rest down and send it back up – it won't come up unless someone goes down.

"It is no good to us, when you are using a walking frame it is no good to you."