Source: Radio New Zealand
The stairs that Dinson Thomas has to carry his daughter up in order to get inside their home. SUPPLIED
A dad who has been lifting his teenage daughter from her wheelchair up the stairs to their front door says the funding for a lift to their house falls short of the expected cost and the project is on hold.
The Thomas family live on a steep section in Newlands, Wellington, with seven steps to their front door.
Dinson Thomas said they park the car near the steps and he then carries his 13 year-old daughter, who weighs close to 40 kilograms and has cerebral palsy and complex needs, into the house.
“It’s really hard…and it’s not for a short time, it’s a long time because they stopped the work and I don’t have any other options. She needs access to the house right, that’s the only way she can come inside the house now.”
They bought the house when their daughter was three and carrying her was much easier.
Thomas said he recently had a close call, slipping on the stairs and falling while carrying her.
“When I carry her up the steps she just moves around, when I’m holding her then I lost my balance. It’s really scary it’s a safety thing right, it’s health and safety.”
He said he received the maximum funding to have a platform lift installed at their back steps, just over $15,000, through Disability Support Services (DSS).
Enable provides equipment and oversees installation within the funding criteria set by DSS.
Correspondence between Thomas and Enable shows the work started last February but a month later Thomas was advised the quote came in close to $4000 over the funding – long story short, Thomas put the work on hold till March this year because he could not afford that at the time.
The back door of their home where the lift was supposed to be installed. SUPPLIED
The quote had lapsed in that time and came in another $2200 over, bringing Thomas’ contribution close to $6200.
The lift is still not built.
It comes as Carers NZ prepares to release its second annual survey of 17,000 people who care for disabled, sick of injured family members or friends, which shows a third had cut back on food or heating to make ends meet.
Carers NZ chief executive Laurie Hilsgen said it can be very expensive installing a lift and not all households can afford to pay thousands.
“For some people just paying for it is their solution but not everyone can do that so it is an equity issue. It’s not fair that some are asked to pay and others just wait and wait and wait and don’t have the money to pay and what you’ve got is people who have needs who aren’t being as well supported as they should be.”
Carers NZ has released a snapshot of its second annual survey to RNZ, showing 31 percent are struggling to make ends meet and 16 percent are in debt because of caring.
It also shows 37 percent had been injured while caring for a loved one.
Hilsgen said she has great sympathy for the Thomas family’s situation.
“That’s a big ask to carry someone up and down the stairs. We have a public health system in New Zealand, we have an ACC injury prevention scheme, there should be mechanisms in place so we do not rely on people to do that level of physical effort. It’s probably unsafe for both of them.”
DSS acting general manager for commissioning and funding, Michael Hiscox, said disabled people who need support to live in their own home may be eligible for funding to get free or subsidised equipment or modifications.
“When people need to access funding for housing modifications, an equipment and modification service qualified housing assessor will work with the family or individual to look at the modifications that will best suit their needs and whether they are eligible for funding through DSS.”
He said depending on a disabled person’s individual situation, DSS may be able to pay the full cost or a contribution, meaning some of the cost would need to be covered by the household.
“We acknowledge this is a difficult situation for Mr Thomas and his whānau.”
Thomas raised his concerns about the costs he would need to cover with the Health and Disability Commissioner, who asked Enable to respond.
In a letter to Thomas, Enable’s chief operating officer Jane Wenman acknowledged his concerns regarding the cost contribution required for the remaining work on the lift, in particular the $2200 dollar increase above the close to $4000 – and said the contractor had agreed to soak up the $2200, leaving $4000 for Thomas to pay.
“Following receipt of your recent correspondence, we undertook further review and discussion with the contractor. Through this process, the contractor identified that the original quote had omitted some necessary components,” Wenman said.
“We have agreed that this earlier omission will be absorbed by the contractor and will not be passed on to you. Therefore, the cost contribution will return to the $3,945.75 as originally advised.”
But Thomas believed they should honour the original price given when work began, within the $15,000 funding limit.
“She can’t walk at any stage, she needs access to the house but she’s out. It’s totally unacceptable, they agreed to do something, they have to do that.”
Enable said it is reviewing its internal processes to understand how the work began before the full quote had been finalised, to ensure their expected standards are consistently met.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
