High Court to rule on Hossack warden cases
The first two court cases against social landlords that have removed live-in wardens in sheltered housing schemes began yesterday.
Solicitor Yvonne Hossack is representing sheltered housing tenants in Barnet and Portsmouth in a judicial review. The cases are the first in a series of judicial reviews planned by Ms Hossack covering around 50 sheltered housing schemes.
Portsmouth is using two wardens who share patrols between seven schemes at night, plus wardens at each scheme during the day. Barnet has proposed using an alarm service plus visiting wardens covering 1,500 sheltered housing places, but an injunction prevented it from making the changes before the judicial review.
David Mearns, assistant housing manager at Portsmouth Council, said the new service was better as mobile wardens would walk around checking for sounds of distress, but a resident warden would be asleep and only woken if a resident in trouble had pulled their alarm cord.
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Readers' comments (4)
teddy mcnabb | 03/12/2009 4:11 pm
What planet is david mearns on? he like the enemy we have here in northampton are obviously not listening to the residents and i suspect mearns like those we have here could,nt care less!
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Peter | 03/12/2009 5:11 pm
So mobile wardens don't sleep then? Mr Mearns if you cannot articulate a plausible reason to support your view, it is better to keep stump!
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Junior | 03/12/2009 11:06 pm
In my Careless Housing Association in East End telling most sit on bums all day suppose ensure each day everyone's o.k. - last week a glasses person came to give a eye test the Warden could not be found and the person walking around. Well if I found that my mother or father left alone. I go mad. She had gone off to doing shopping . I hear frighten to tell Manager because most make the Resident's suffer. To me its up to the people in these Sheltering Homes.
To honest I think if you have a good one. Its ok. But alot of bad one's out they. Sitting on bum and skipping off to shop. Not sorted out events, repairs and rents. Sorry you good Warden/Scheme Manager's but some of your colleague let you down and look like you have to pay the price.
Also understand some of these Warden/Scheme Manager's are bully's throw the racist card at the Resident's.
Also taking in Resident's who need extra care breaking the rules and some of the Resident end up helping the Resident after 9 to 5 - anyway I believe most of switch/ cords to pull in a Emergency.
But how going to hold events and arrange events if no Warden. Who going to do that.
Well???
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sheila douglas | 09/12/2009 9:50 pm
my son who is epileptic and blind lived in a care home for 22 years in feb 2009 he was given a drug for his epilepsy thats turned against him after 3 months in watford general he was back to himself not good enough for social services he was transfered to a geriactric holding ward in hemel hempstead because the care home said they could not manage his fits he is having 1 every 6-10 days as apposed to 3-5 a day and there he has stayed in the most appaling conditions on a geriactric diet (he is 40) no stimulation no hope while social services drag their feet its driving us his parents to breaking point now they are reluctant to let him home for christmas with us i can not come to terms with the absolute cruelty that social services dish out and the arrogent beliefe they have that they know best my dear son is getting more and more desperate as are wehe has done nothing wrong we have done nothing wrong how can they as suposed human beings be so cruel
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