Derry OAPs stage Abbey House protest

Residents in Derry’s Abbey House have staged a protest at the gates of their building, where the lift has been out of operation for the past four weeks.

Abbey House, in the Little Diamond area of the city, is housing with care for older people - managed by Apex Housing Association.

Tony Sheerin and his friend John, who live in Abbey House staged the protest to draw attention to the difficulties residents were having using the stairs in the absence of the lift.

Speaking to Derry Now, Tony said all of the residents living in Abbey House were senior citizens and the physical demand of being forced to use the stairs was taking its toll on their health.

Tony said: “The lift broke down on December 1 and since then we have had to use the stairs. As you can imagine, when some of us use the stairs we get a shortage of breath. This has happened to me.

“John and I both have health problems and both of our flats are upstairs. Using the stairs is a problem for us physically, especially if we are carrying messages.

“The oldest person who lives here is 92 and she has to get her family down every time she needs to get up or down the stairs. There is no-one here in Abbey House to help her.”

Tony claimed that staff and Abbey House had been told not to help residents up and down the stairs. 

He said he did not know why this decision had been taken.

He said: “Last Saturday, I came in with a couple of messages and I said to one of the staff in the office, ‘Would you please help me?’ They replied that they had been told not to help us.

“As a result, I could not get up the stairs with my messages. I had to wait until a stranger came in and I asked them to help me. I think the whole situation with the lift being out of operation is a disgrace,” said Tony, who added that it was only after his protest at the gates of Abbey House, a member of Apex staff came to discuss the lift situation.

He added: “They said someone would now be present in Abbey House for two hours every day, Monday to Friday, to help us.

“They have sent us a letter confirming this but I am not sure if this system is in place yet. They did nothing for three weeks, so we are hoping they stick to this.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that older people have had to put up with such an intolerable situation - especially people with health problems which would make climbing stairs extremely challenging. It was shocking that we had to protest in the street to get some resolution to the problem.

“Apex has told us the lift should be fixed in the first week of January. I hope this is true.”

A spokesperson for Apex told Derry News: “In order to repair the lift at Abbey House, bespoke parts have had to be sourced from Sweden.

“We have continued to update those affected and are doing all we can to assist our older tenants through the installation of a stair lift and providing additional staff support.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and will ensure the lift is repaired as soon as the bespoke parts are delivered.”