PEOPLE in a sheltered housing scheme say they feel “abandoned and isolated” now they no longer have a live-in warden.

“This used to be a very happy house,” said Mrs Chris Smith, one of the residents. “Now it’s awful.”

The warden, Val Wood, lived in one of the mhs homes flats at Hallwood House, in Kestrel Road, Lordswood, Chatham, until she was asked to leave last year.

“She was lovely,” said Mrs Smith. “She used to organise social events and outings, although it wasn’t part of her official duties. We were never told why she had to leave.”

Another resident, Dave Phillips, who suffers from blindness and diabetes, said: “We pay rent for sheltered housing accommodation.

“Without a live-in warden we are not getting what we pay for.

“Notices in our flats tell us that if the fire alarm goes off we have to stay put until the warden tells us to move. But if the warden is not here, how can they do that.

“Lots of people here need medical attention. As a diabetic I could fall into a coma. There is an emergency procedure but it involves complex codes and I could be dead while they are sorting all that out.”

Mr Phillips said 50 per cent of the residents had disabilities. Some were wheelchair users. Others were in the early stages of dementia.

“These people are inclined to wander,” he said. “When we had a live-in warden she would know if someone left the building because a light would go on. Now if someone wanders off, no one here knows about it.”

“Just this week one resident was sitting in the hall dressed up and ready to go out at 8pm. She thought it was eight in the morning. Val would have spotted that and helped her.”

The residents also feel they are insecure without a live-in warden.

Because of an automatic security light, the live-in warden could monitor who came into the building at night.

“She used to go round making sure the place was secure,” said Mr Phillips. “We are very isolated up here.

“Now we have a warden during the day. But often she is away attending training programmes or seeing to residents in another house. We’re lucky if we get her 25 hours a week.”

Stuart Hodgkins, supported housing manager for mhs homes, said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the reasons for Val Wood’s departure.

Mhs homes was currently awaiting the results of an internal consultation process involving tenants, families and carers before making plans on staffing.

He said residents at Hallwood House were given an opportunity to air their views and ask questions at two meetings after the change in staffing arrangements. These would be taken into account as part of the consultation exercise.

Mr Hodgkins set out the role of a scheme manager, (warden). “Their role is to offer tenancy support to enable people to live as independently as possible,” he said.

“Any care needs a tenant requires is usually met by Social Services through the care management system.

“In a case of a tenant displaying signs of early dementia, the role of a scheme manager would be to make a referral to Social Services to carry out an assessment of care needs. Once this is complete a care package is put in place to meet the needs of the individual tenant.

“Should members of the Hallwood House community have any concerns as to the well being and safety of a fellow resident out of hours, the Invicta Lifeline call system is designed to respond to situations like this and other health related matters.”

Mr Hodgkins said fire safety arrangements met the requirements of all the relevant authorities.

He added that although residents paid a support charge, tenancy support did not depend on whether a scheme manager was resident or not.

Although the previous scheme manager had chosen to organise social events, this was her choice. She was not encouraged to do so.

“When areas of concern are expressed or a breakdown of communication arises, we at mhs always strives to respond in a sensitive way that promotes a satisfactory resolution as soon as possible,” said Mr Hodgkins.