A disabled resident in Birmingham has spoken out about feeling 'under house arrest' after a crucial lift in her tower block stopped working for five consecutive days, leaving her effectively trapped in her fourth-floor apartment.
Five Days of Isolation
Georgina Rose, who lives at Little Hill House in Erdington and suffers from severe arthritis, found herself completely reliant on a broken lift system from Friday, January 16, through to Tuesday, January 20. The lift, which she depends on to leave her flat due to her mobility challenges, became unexpectedly inaccessible, creating what she described as a distressing period of confinement.
"I couldn't get out, I felt trapped in my flat," Georgina told BirminghamLive. "It was poor communication from the council, nobody got in touch until Monday. I felt like I was under house arrest the entire time."
Communication Breakdown
Despite council procedures that involve placing notices on each floor during lift outages, Georgina claimed the communication was inadequate and delayed. She highlighted the particular challenge of a help phone number being placed downstairs - inaccessible to those who couldn't reach the ground floor without the lift.
"A phone number was left downstairs calling for help, but if you couldn't get there, how would you know there was a number?" she questioned, pointing to what she saw as a fundamental flaw in the support system for disabled residents during such incidents.
Family Concerns and Council Response
The situation also affected Georgina's family, with her daughter-in-law Kiran Rose expressing her own distress at being unable to visit during the lift outage. "I'm disabled myself and couldn't see my mother-in-law during this time," Kiran explained. "It felt like the council left her stranded during this period, I found it depressing."
Birmingham City Council has acknowledged the distress caused by the incident, with a spokesperson stating: "We are sorry to hear how distressing this situation was for the resident and her family. We recognise how difficult it can be when a lift is unexpectedly out of service, particularly for residents with mobility issues."
Maintenance and Statistics
The council confirmed that the lift broke down unexpectedly on January 16, with replacement parts ordered immediately and repairs completed by January 20. They emphasised that their lift contractor followed regular procedures by placing notices on each floor and offering temporary accommodation options for residents with urgent medical and accessibility needs during out-of-hours periods.
Interestingly, the council provided statistics showing that lift availability at Little Hill House between October 1 and December 31 was 99.75 percent, exceeding their 97 percent target. However, they acknowledged the importance of clear and timely communication during unexpected disruptions.
Commitment to Improvement
The council spokesperson added: "We recognise the importance of clear and timely communication, particularly during unexpected disruptions. We will review this incident with our teams and contractors to ensure we continue improving how we support residents in situations like this."
The incident has highlighted the critical importance of reliable lift services for disabled residents in multi-storey accommodation and raised questions about emergency communication protocols when essential accessibility equipment fails.
