Wet Room Funding Bid Aims To Keep Woman In Home

A woman in Swindon is seeking to raise funds for a disabled wet room after the local council refused to pay for it.

Suzanne Hancock, who lives in a council flat with her partner, had sought funding for the wet room due to her medical situation, the Swindon Advertiser reports.

She is one of just 11 people in the Wiltshire town to suffer from corticobasal syndrome, a brain disorder that results in symptoms such as reduced mobility and declining speech, sight and hearing. In addition, the 56-year-old also has Parkinson’s Disease.

Despite all this, the council is only willing to pay for a stairlift and not for modifications to the bathroom in her home, where she has lived for 31 years and raised a family.

They are offering the alternative of moving to a bungalow in another part of Swindon, but Ms Hancock said this would leave her isolated from her friends, none of whom drive and who would thus be unable to see her.

Questioning the decision, she told the paper: “I know of other council houses in this area that have had wet rooms installed, so why not this one?”

She noted: “The council say they won’t change the bathroom to a wet room in case a family move in at some point in the future.”

A council spokesperson said the local authority “continues to work with Mrs Hancock.”

Ms Hancock and her partner are hoping to raise the funds privately, but so far the appeal has yet to realise anything approaching the amount they need.

While Ms Hancock is facing a refusal from her council, some people have endured a long wait for a wet room to be installed by the council.

The Southern Daily Echo recently reported on the case of arthritis sufferer Michael Davey, who had to wait for over two years for Southampton City Council to fit an accessible shower.