An elderly couple in their 90s have been torn apart in what has been described as a “heartbreaking nightmare”, all due to the current housing crisis.
Sheila Glass, aged 96, and her husband William Glass, 94, who have been married for an incredible 74 years, find themselves separated because there’s simply no suitable housing or care available for Sheila to leave hospital, even though she’s ready to be discharged.
After suffering a neck injury from a fall at home, Sheila was admitted to Liskeard Hospital in Cornwall. Despite being medically fit to leave the hospital over two months ago, she remains there because their Millbrook home was deemed unsafe by occupational therapists. Meanwhile, William has had to relocate to his daughter’s home in Torpoint, and they’ve been put on the Cornwall housing list.
The couple, who have seldom spent time apart except for when William served in the Royal Navy, are now facing this separation. Before her accident, Sheila was the primary caregiver for her husband.
Health officials have expressed that they are actively seeking a resolution with the family, while the council has stated it gives priority to “those most in need” but can only offer housing when it becomes available.
Their son-in-law, Mike Adams, has called the ordeal “traumatic” and “an absolute nightmare” adding: “It is a tragic story and symptomatic of the state of the country at the moment. They don’t know how long they have left, but all they want simply is to be together.
“Everyday is a day they are not together is so upsetting. Sheila is 96. I keep trying to put that in context – she is the same age as the queen when she died. See how frail the queen was?
“Given her age she’s amazing – in the hospital they likened her to a Duracell bunny, but she wants to get home and do some sowing and cook her husband a meal again.
“Every day she’s bed blocking her mental wellbeing is suffering – it is heart-breaking and horrible to see.”
A disheartened William told the BBC: “She misses me, we want to be together. At our age we don’t know how much longer we have got. We’d like the last few years or whatever to be together in our own place, where we are not wholly dependent on our family.
“The hospital want her out and we want her home, but there’s no home for us. We’re stuck and we don’t know what to do next.”
Mike said that his parents have always been hardworking “throughout their whole lives” never asking for “anything in return” – now in their moment of need, the couple must rely on higher authorities to reunite them.
He added: “They’ve just kept themselves to themselves but now they need help. Because they are old, people don’t want to know – it’s so upsetting.”
“For the powers to be it’s another name on a piece of paper. We are hoping upon hope that they can see them as human beings – which will finally trigger something into happening.”
A spokesperson from Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Liskeard Hospital, told the BBC: “We do not want any of our patients to be in hospital any longer than they need to be, especially those like Sheila who are independent and have no ongoing care and support needs.
“When planning a patient’s discharge, our teams will assess the home environment to ensure it is safe for them to return to.
“This can be more complicated when a person lives in a property they own themselves, especially if that property has fallen into disrepair or is deemed to be unsafe. We are continuing to work with Sheila’s family and our partners to find a solution and ensure she is able to leave hospital as soon as possible”.
In Cornwall, on average, around 2,300 social housing properties become available each year. Cornwall Council acknowledged the “unprecedented pressures” on housing, with a staggering 27,000 households on its social housing register.
The council also mentioned they are “working with government to introduce double council tax on second homes and limiting the number of holiday lets through the planning process”.
