Brain-injured Rushden rehabilitation resident left 'prisoner' in own room after lift breaks down

A resident in a Rushden rehabilitation care home has been left a ‘prisoner’ in their own room for more than six days after a lift in the facility broke down.

With a vital replacement part being shipped from Greece, residents at Kingly Terrace in Essex Road have been left stranded away from facilities and equipment.

One relative of a patient who contacted this newspaper has spoken of their loved one’s frustration at being trapped in their room.

They said: “The lift at a has broken. This has left residents stranded, one resident has not been able to get into his bedroom since Saturday. Others are trapped in their bedrooms.

"This is now the seventh day. As you can imagine, the mental health of the residents is being adversely affected. Staff members are being upset by the severely distressed residents and we all feel our hands are tied.”

Bulky toileting aids cannot be moved between floors and wheelchair users have been unable to access outside areas.

The relative said: “The lift is continually breaking down, last time for four days and now it has been broken since Saturday with no indication of when it will be repaired again. I feel terrible.”

A spokesman for Active Care Group said “We can confirm that there was a lift breakdown at our Kingly Terrace residence on May 6, 2023. The repair company was called immediately, and a technician visited the site on the same day but was unfortunately unable to repair the lift.

"A replacement part has been ordered by the company and as soon as it arrives, the lift will be repaired. We have notified the CQC and have also brought in additional equipment for each floor to allow service users to continue to receive the care they need.

The wellbeing and safety of our service users is of paramount importance and we take all safeguarding incidents very seriously.”

Kingly Terrace is a neurological rehabilitation service in Northamptonshire which provides residential Neurological, Neuro Rehabilitation and Neurobehavioural services to adults aged over 18. The facility has an Outstanding CQC rating.