A disabled mum-of-three says she is a “prisoner” in her own home after waiting around four years for vital adaptations to make it wheelchair accessible. Hasna Mhammed, 49, said ambulance staff have been left “disgusted” at her living conditions and struggled to get her out of the property, in Twickenham, which she rents from social landlord Richmond Housing Partnership.
Ms Mhammed needs the adaptations after becoming a full-time wheelchair user in 2019, when she was hospitalised with serious health complications. She was left with paralysis in her right leg and significant weakness in her left, followed by a diagnosis of Functional Neurological Disorder.
She said she can’t move safely around the home as it isn’t wheelchair accessible, so she spends most of the time in her bedroom. There isn’t ramp access into or out of the property, so she must be carried out of the front door by two people to leave.
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Ms Mhammed said she must be carried out of the front door by two people if she needs to leave(Image: Charlotte Lillywhite)
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “I’m a prisoner in my own home… I don’t have a life. I was rushed into hospital on Saturday again, unfortunately I had a small incident, and the ambulance paramedics… were absolutely disgusted to see how I was living. They struggled to get me out of the house and when I said I had no ramp and no easy access they were just gobsmacked.”
The mum added she is “scared to go out” after falling out of her wheelchair while being carried out of the front door, meaning she only leaves when necessary. She claimed she has injured herself doing simple tasks as her kitchen isn’t wheelchair accessible, while she can’t access the fridge or wall cabinets.
Richmond Council has agreed to carry out adaptations to the property, including transforming the kitchen into an open plan, wheelchair-accessible space and installing a ramp at the back door, along with funding on top of the maximum £30,000 Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) to meet the cost. Councils can issue DFGs to help fund changes to disabled people’s homes.
But Ms Mhammed must contribute £9,404 towards the cost before the works can begin due to a means test applied to DFGs, in a policy usually set out by the government. She said this came as a “devastating blow” because she was told in 2022 she would only have to contribute £97, but an updated financial assessment earlier this year returned the revised figure.
The means test involves calculating the income and savings of the disabled person and their partner, setting this against an assessment of their basic needs. It requires a contribution towards the cost of the works if their resources are more than the assessment. The government told the LDRS councils can set a local means testing policy, and can sometimes waive it completely.
Ms Mhammed said her family can’t afford to pay the “huge amount of money”, and that the required contribution changed because her husband moved from part-time to full-time work. She said this only resulted in a small increase in his income, he is the household’s only earner and they “don’t have any savings”.
She said: “We pay full rent, full council tax, all the bills, food, petrol, everything. We’re left with nothing. We don’t have an outside life – we don’t go to family for a meal, we don’t go to treats.”
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She feels the means test penalises disabled people in similar situations, and said the government should “step up” and help them. She said: “You get these funds and these grants to help people’s lives be independent… but we shouldn’t be penalised because someone in the family’s actually working.”
She added: “Someone that unfortunately is disabled, in a wheelchair, is being penalised because her husband’s had to go from working part-time to full-time and his salary has changed because of that.”
The mum claimed the process to secure the adaptations has been long, affected by delays, and she is desperate for the works to be carried out to regain her independence.
The council said surveyors from its Home Improvement Agency previously advised Ms Mhammed to “agree to starting the works that would resolve the access problems she had been experiencing, which includes door widening and installing a ramp to the rear garden, but she refused to allow any works to proceed until her issues with the kitchen adaptations plans had been resolved.”
Ms Mhammed said she asked for the works to be carried out together to minimise disruption. She said the original kitchen plan had to be revised to resolve accessibility issues and, in an email seen by the LDRS, she accepted the finalised design in September last year. The revised scheme then went out to tender.
She said they have now reached the final stages of the process, but the council can’t proceed with the works until the means-tested contribution is paid in full. She feels the last four years of her life have been “stripped away” and the situation has taken a toll on her family, along with her own mental health.
“I spoke to my doctor, I said I just don’t want to be here,” she said. “I’ve told the family I just don’t want to live here anymore… I don’t want to be alive anymore. I can’t live like this anymore, it’s too much for me. It’s taken a big toll. My daughter was at uni, it was too much for her – she ended up giving up uni last year.”
She added: “I’ve cried too much. I’m hurting too much. I can’t do it anymore. The other day I cried out to the doctor. I go, I don’t know how I’m going to cope. I’m not even safe in my own home.”
Local disability charity Ruils has been working with Ms Mhammed to get the adaptations made to her home. Ruils helped to secure a £2,500 pledge from local medical charity The Victoria Foundation to go towards the figure if she raises the rest of the cash.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise the remaining £6,904 needed for the works. “I’m human and, at the end of the day, I shouldn’t live like this,” Ms Mhammed said. The link to Ms Mhammed’s GoFundMe is here.
Emily John, Ms Mhammed’s caseworker from Ruils, told the LDRS: “Hasna’s case has shone a light on some of the systemic issues with Disabled Facilities Grants and the mean test calculations. It is evident that disabled people are disproportionately affected in society and do not have the same equal opportunities to live in safe housing. We want the government to urgently review this so disabled people like Hasna are not left in dangerous and inaccessible housing.”
Cathy Maker, Ruils CEO, said: “Sadly, Hasna’s situation is not unique. We support many people in the borough who live in inaccessible social housing properties – from clients being trapped in their bedrooms to wheelchair users living in second floor properties without lift access, we’ve seen a range of people who have fallen through the cracks. Tenants often wait for years for proposed changes to be agreed and then they are expected to come up with thousands of pounds to cover the costs.”
A Richmond Council spokesperson said: “The council is committed to ensuring that residents are provided with housing that meets their needs and support to enable residents to remain in their homes. In line with this, our Housing Improvement Agency surveyors have been working with Mrs M to address her concerns.”
They added: “In regards to the funding, as the work required is extensive, the council has agreed to additional funding above the DFG limit. However, due to the government’s assessment, which has found a contribution is necessary, some financial input from Mrs M is required. At this time, the case remains open, and the council will continue working with Mrs M to find a resolution.”
A government spokesperson said: “The government is committed to supporting disabled people to live independently. This is why this year we are investing £623million in the Disabled Facilities Grant which can help towards the cost of adapting a disabled person’s home.
“Local authorities have the flexibility to set out a local means testing policy, and can sometimes waive the test altogether if they feel significant financial hardship would result from being required to contribute some or all of the costs of the works.”
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