Unhygenic flat

[Victoria Duke]

Following a contractor entering a residents flat we got feedback that it wasn’t very nice to work in as it was dirty to the extent of being unhygienic (plates of old food, and bathroom/kitchen clearly not been cleaned for many months). There were also flies present. He has said that he will not go back into the property again and I fully support this. This resident has had issues in the past with the flat being untidy and is always reluctant to engage and when pressed says that we are making her anxiety/mental health bad. Clearly the issue needs addressing while being mindful of the mental health too, has anyone got any experience of this and any advice?

[Clare Heyes]

Dear Victoria, I had this with a resident whose health was poor and everything had got too much for them. I visited and empathised with their situation and offered to have the flat cleaned by a professional. They agreed to this and we sent in a firm well used to filth. However, once the flat was clean the resident was able to keep it so. I suspect your resident is in a similar situation. Depending on your finances the Charity could pick up the costs(as we did as it was £700) or add a service charge to her wmc maybe.
Kind regards,
Clare

[Victoria Duke]

Thanks Clare, that’s a useful option to suggest to trustees!

[lana_sh]

Hello Victoria,

You can always invoke your residents handbook or a letter of appointment that the residents signed if you have a para about the place being tidy/ not clattered/ hoarding.

We had a similar issue with one of our resident and it was considered as a self neglect. This allowed us to engage social services. They contacted the resident within the next two days, set the appointments and discussed the services they can provide. We helped with arranging deep cleaning, but the resident paid. It was sorted within a week.  

We also involved Age Uk. They helped with talking the resident into hiring regular help.  

Kind Regards,
Lana

[Victoria Duke]

Thanks Lana, that’s really helpful!

[Katherine Bird]

I know it is not quite the same – after lockdown we discovered that one of our residents had started hoarding significantly, and (with their consent) arranged for a specialist to go in and meet with them to put together a plan to work through and get the property sorted (at their expense).

The people who went in were also helping with uncleaned dishes and plates, and uncleaned bathroom – so it may be worth looking at hoarding services.

[lana_sh]

Hello Katherine,

what specialist did you contact to deal with this issue?

Kind regards,
Lana

[Sarah Massey]

Hi Katherine

We have at times insisted that some residents take on a weekly home help (our local service has some subsidies for those less well off and in need). This has been part of the license in the odd case. We also check that the resident has all the benefits their entitled to to help them pay for this (particularly non means tested attendance allowance)
The home help has also served the purpose of reducing isolation and adding an extra person to keep an eye on the well being of the resident
On occassion we have also paid for a one off clean in advance of this -generally again where a resident has experienced poor mental health, but this needs to be part of a package of other support measures and more regular visits.

Best wishes
Sarah

[Katherine Bird]

We worked with a local organisation called Unity.

Home

Many thanks

Katherine

[JacquiLewis]

We had this issue. Over a period of time some trust was built up to the extent I was able to introduce a cleaner (someone I knew with dbs). The resident pays the cleaner himself which helps him be determined to keep things straight in between visits. The cleaner has just dropped to once a fortnight as the resident is doing so well that is all that is required. The resident is much happier – it just all got too much for him to manage.

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