It must be one of the most basic requirements for any civilized household, but ask the City of Sheffield Council for one and you're made to feel you've just asked for a golden paved road to your door.  In another shameful exhibition of Sheffield Council's extreme lack of concern for it's elderly, they put their tenants through a series of humiliating 'tests' to identify the suitability of the requestor for receiving such a luxury.

For one Sheffield couple, who have lived in the same council house for nearly fifty years, the events that followed their request for an upstairs toilet were the most embarrassing they have ever had to endure at the hands of the council.

The house is a typical two up-two down with a downstairs toilet and an upstairs bathroom (bath and wash basin only). Over the years, the couple have suffered the common effects of aging and in a typical Sheffielder's show of "just getting on with it", the couple have put up with the problem of having to risk falling when getting to the downstairs toilet.

The husband, who had served King and country in the last world war, had particularly been labouring for several years to get down to their lower floor toilet and finally came to the decision that they had to ask the council for one to be installed upstairs. Despite the obvious convenience, it also meant a safer trip to the toilet.

Once the request had been lodged, the council sent one of it's Occupational Therapists to assess the situation, basically to find out if the elderly requestor warranted the expense of an upstairs toilet.

In an embarrassing two hours, the "therapist" made the 83 year old husband climb the stairs in his house to see if he could really get up and down them. Despite the fact he's a registered disabled and suffers from Osteo-Arthritis, he has to literally drag himself up the stairs by pulling on two handrails, the therapist insisted on watching him go up and then come back down.

After witnessing this pitiful display, the so-called therapist, then proceeded to ridicule the couple further by providing her solution to the problem - the couple were shocked to discover she was recommending they should us a bedpan or a commode and pour it's contents into the bath when finished. This was only HALF the solution, as she went into more graphic detail to explain additional instructions, which involved going downstairs to empty the container. This would be completely impractical, as they need both hands on the rails just to get down.

She went on to explain if the couple couldn't get downstairs to empty the contents themselves, they were to ask someone else, perhaps a neighbour to do the deed for them. The couple was stunned at this series of instructions that could not be equaled by any French farce!

In a typical "Job's worth" remark, the un-theraputic therapist said "It's not my decision - it's my boss's, he'll read my report and then decide".

In that same area of Sheffield, the city council have already altered houses with improved kitchens and installed new toilets as part of a phased improvement project. The couple in a nearby house, also council tenants and thirty years younger have been able to work the council to their benefit and have had their house improved with numerous modifications including an upstairs toilet. So what is the cost of an upstairs toilet? Well, by the estimate of a local council building contractor, £300 is the average amount!

How degrading can the council stoop to it's elderly housing tenants and in this example, the tenants have been resident for nearly fifty years without any financial blemishes on their record. Any sane, respectable person would not put this couple through this nightmare, but would immediately recognize the needs of having the most basic requirement met.

In August of last year, the office of V. Beach-Handy, Community Occupational Therapists, sent the couple a letter informing them that they did not meet City Council criteria for a toilet. The letter, initialed by V. Beach-Handy, was short and emotionless as it stated a commode was offered instead of a toilet and acknowledged that the elderly couple were currently forced to use a bucket for upstairs use.

In a closing that breeds contempt and mocks decency, the letter was closed with "Yours sincerely".

It's been over four months since the letter and still the council have rejected requests.

As a fairly young mobile member of the community, I am sickened and disgusted at the treatment this couple has had to endure. With what justification can any local government pass out such monstrous decisions to those who have not been a burden to anyone, least the council whom have profited from their unfaltering rental and tax payments throughout the years.

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