Care shortage keeps couple in their 90s apart

A 96-year-old woman is being kept apart from her husband of 74 years because a shortage of housing options means she cannot leave hospital.

Sheila Glass, who has been in Liskeard Hospital in Cornwall since she broke her neck in a fall at home, was declared medically fit to leave 60 days ago.

The home the couple shared in Millbrook has been declared unsafe by occupational therapists, and husband William, 94, has been moved to his daughter's home in Torpoint.

Health bosses said they were working with the family to find a solution, while the council said it prioritised "those most in need" but could "only provide housing when it becomes available".

Mr and Mrs Glass have been married for 74 years and, other than spells during his time in the Royal Navy, they have rarely been apart until now.

Mrs Glass was her husband's sole carer before her fall.

Mr Glass said: "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."

They have now been placed on the Cornwall housing register.

The couple's son-in-law Mike Adams said: "You have got to appreciate with the housing situation as it is at the moment; there's lots of other people out there looking for housing.

"It's just a lottery if they can get a place.

"It's breaking our hearts, really, watching this situation. It's just stalemate."

A spokesperson from Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, which operates Liskeard Hospital, said: “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”.

Cornwall Council said there were "unprecedented pressures" on housing, with 27,000 households on its social housing register.

It said: "We will prioritise those most in need. However, there is high demand and we can only provide housing when it becomes available."

On average, about 2,300 social housing properties become available each year across Cornwall.

The council said it was doing "all we can to support residents to find the homes they need", including building and buying homes.

It added it was "working with government to introduce double council tax on second homes and limiting the number of holiday lets through the planning process".

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