Man who has not had a bath for almost a year says Bristol City Council is 'guilty of neglect'

A man who has been left unable to properly wash himself for almost a year said Bristol City Council is guilty of neglect.

Brian Smart is on anti-depressants to help him cope with the situation, which has seen his own daughters have to come and help him clean himself since last August.

Back then, increasing problems with his mobility - and a fall off the toilet - meant his doctor wrote to council chiefs demanding that properly accessible bathroom facilities be installed at his council flat in Lockleaze.

Cash-strapped council chiefs have a huge waiting list of people - with 800 applications lodged for better accessible bathroom facilities every single year.

Mr Smart is into the tenth month of waiting for his - and his situation is deteriorating.

At the moment, the 68-year-old has a bath with no shower in one small room, and a separate toilet in a second, even narrower room.

But problems with his back, neck and general mobility mean he can no longer get in and out of the bath - and hasn’t been able to for almost a year.

Back in August, after the fall and his GP writing that letter, the 68-year-old retired plasterer was sent to an appointment at the council’s assessment centre in Old Market, where he was told he was eligible for a bathroom refit.

He was told it would happen within six weeks, but nine months later, he is still waiting.

“The assessment happened on August 24,” he said. “She asked me questions, and I had to take in pictures I took of what the bathroom and toilet facilities are like now.

“They’ve got a toilet and bath set up there in this centre, and they got me to sit on the toilet and I fell forwards and hit the ground when I tried to stand back up.

“I offered to show them trying to get in and out of the bath, but the lady said ‘oh it’s clear, you don’t need to try to get in the bath’,” he added.

His neighbour and friend Julie Tabberer took him to the assessment, and has been badgering the council on his behalf ever since.

“They sent the report back saying what he needed, and said that he should hear within six weeks,” she said.

“When it came to January, I phoned up to ask what was going on, and they sent someone out then to put rails on the toilet,” she added.

Mr Smart said that while they were welcomed, he hadn’t even asked for them. “It was getting to the point then that I’d been months without a bath. And then the man comes and puts rails in a different room.

“I said to him, can you change the bath to a shower or walk-in bath too, and he said it was a different department, and it wasn’t him who does that. So I was left again,” added Mr Smart.

Nothing happened until April, when Ms Tabberer called some more. “They promised it would be done in May, and that Brian was tenth on the list. It’s got to the end of May now, and still nothing,” she added.

Mr Smart is now having to wash himself with wet wipes and flannels, and said it is degrading.

“I manage to strip wash, but I struggle with it,” said the pensioner. “I can’t get my arm behind my back, and there’s always bits you can’t manage. My arm and body goes into spasms if I try it, it’s bloody stupid.”

Mr Smart has two daughters who come and help when they can. “It’s not fair on them,” said Julie. “One of them is all the way over in Yate and has little kids, and Brian doesn’t want them coming over to wash him. It’s just neglect,” she added.

The situation was making Mr Smart increasingly depressed.

“I was fit and healthy a few years ago. I was a plasterer my whole life, and then have gradually been getting worse with my back and neck.

“I take 160 tablets a week. If I was a dirty person, I wouldn’t care, but I’m not. I like to be clean, I keep a clean and tidy home, and this is just badly affecting me,” he added.

Faced with growing frustration, about six weeks ago, Mr Smart ran a bath, managed to get in, but fell and knocked himself out getting out.

“I’d had enough,” he said. “I just wanted a bath so much. After, I let the water out and tried to get out, but I couldn’t get over the side and pitched over and smacked my head against the wall.

“There’s not much room in there, and there’s not much to hold on to. I was there for God knows how long on the floor. It’s definitely neglect,” he added.

"It's not like I'm asking for a £20,000 project, just a shower instead of a bath, or a wet room instead of two rooms," he added. "If I had the money I'd do it myself, but I only wish I did have the money."

Faced with a squeeze on the amount of money councils have received from Central Government, Bristol City Council’s social care and housing budget for things like home improvements in its housing stock have been equally squeezed.

A council spokesperson said the waiting list was too long.

“We sincerely regret the impact this situation has on the well-being of Mr Smart and we are doing all that we can to rectify this situation,” he said.

“Each year we handle 800 cases to upgrade and refurbish such facilities and we are working with our contractors to help reduce the amount of time that people have to wait.

“In this case, we hope to be able to move forward with the allocation of a contractor to the project as an urgent priority,” he added.