Inverness stroke survivor claims survivors are being let down by the system
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A STROKE victim believes she and others like her are being let down by a lack of support.
Lindi Gunn (36) said she has been bitterly disappointed at everything from a lack of availability of accessible council housing to having to fork out for her own therapy nearly five years on from being struck down.
The former fitness instructor was a familiar face at gyms across Inverness until a stroke paralysed the left side of her body in July 2017.
She was also a cleaner at the city’s Ness Bank Church.
Since then it has been an uphill battle for the mother-of-two who has struggled to find a suitable place to live, spending much of the benefits she now relies on to try to achieve a better quality of life.
She and her children currently live in temporary accommodation in the city’s Glenurquhart Road which she says is wholly unsuitable for her needs.
She said: “Although I managed to get walking I’m pretty much dragging my leg around as it’s only my quadricep that works.
“I’m getting caught on everything and I’ve got adaptive equipment in the kitchen which means there’s no room on the worktops.”
As part of her housing application, lodged four years ago, she said she had to get “a pile of letters” from medical specialists, but feels the council “haven’t bothered with it” since.
“Every time I phone about it they tell me I’ve got high points then I never hear anything back about it,” she said.
“I just feel like nobody is doing their jobs properly.”
She is also struggling with the cost of therapies to help her deal with her condition.
“When I got out of hospital I was paying £75 for NeuroPhysio Scotland (rehab service), £20 for acupuncture because I get really bad pain, £16 a week for Oxygen Works (for therapeutic pain relief) and £20 for personal training,” she said.
“So that was £131 on therapy – my disability benefit was pretty much all going to therapy.
“I get really bad stabbing pains, it can feel like my eyeball is going to pop out – it’s like someone stabs you with a knife through the ear.
“With the increased pain comes increased spasticity – the harder I try to do things the worse it gets.”
“Why did I work seven days a week paying taxes – what am I getting back?”
Speaking about the impact on her children Ella (14) and Cameron (12) she said: “They’ve found it quite hard. I can’t do everything for them like I used to.
“Like I can only carry things with one hand and my leg is like carrying a bag of potatoes about. My left arm is completely paralysed.”
And she added: “If it wasn’t for my dad I’d be pretty screwed – he’s my carer, my driver. What about these people who don’t have anyone – and there are a lot of them – that are just left to it?”
As well as criticising the council she also hit out at care she received at Raigmore Hospital in the wake of her stroke, claiming nurses would become impatient with her ringing for assistance and even mocking her.
An NHS spokeswoman urged her to get in touch to discuss the issues she raised.
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Existing council tenants can request an occupational therapy assessment through the NHS.
“The annual capital budget of £1.1 million for medical adaptations to existing council homes was approved by housing and property committee in December 2021.
“This programme ensures that any tenants with occupational therapy referrals will have the necessary medical adaptations carried out in their council home.
“The council recognises that in some situations it is not technically possible to carry out the necessary adaptations and that a transfer to a different property may be appropriate.
“The council allocates houses on a housing-needs basis to applicants as part of the Highland Housing Register. Points for allocations include accessible and medical points which are assessed by NHS Highland.
“This allows adapted properties to be allocated to applicants most in need of accessible housing.”
