Sanctuary Housing Association: Lifts finally fixed after poorly pensioner left housebound in Sheffield flats

A housing association has finally fixed a lift, after concerns that it could prevent a disabled pensioner being allowed home from hospital.

Sanctuary Housing Association sent engineers to complete repairs to the lift at flats run by Sanctuary, called Sycamore Heights, in Shiregreen, on Thursday.

They told The Star that the lifts in grandmother-of-four Mary Kooseenlin's block of flats would be mended on December 22, after we took up her concerns that she would not be able to be released from hospital on December 27 because of the broken elevator.

In the end, she moved back home anyway, and was carried up the stairs by her son. It meant she was housebound.

But now it has been confirmed that the lifts are working again. A spokesman for the association said the lifts were restored on Thursday, when their contractor was advised that the specialist part needed to complete the repairs would arrive that morning.

Sadly, Mary has now had to go back into hospital, said her son, Ian Moore.

Mr Moore said he was pleased that the lifts were working again.

But he said: "Residents are happy that the lifts are finally working again, but it feels like they were not kept informed. The feeling is that it shouldn't have taken four weeks."

Mary suffers from pulmonary fibrosis, a serious degenerative lung disease, which has left her disabled. She needs a mobility scooter to get around.

She was taken into hospital a month ago because of the illness. Mary contacted The Star before Christmas week concerned she would not be able to return home, even though health bosses had arranged a package of care, which would see her visited twice a day.