Norwich man unhappy about covid isolation accommodation provided by Falkirk Council

But Falkirk Council said they did everything they could to support Simon Kindleysides when he was released from hospital on Monday this week.

He needed to stay in quarantine until today and then wait for relatives to travel north to take him home to Norwich.

Simon, 37, is paralysed from the waist down after being diagnosed with functional neurological disorder and a glioma brain tumour in 2013.

The father-of-three, who has had both his vaccinations, believes he picked up the virus at a friend's funeral in his hometown, who had died of covid, a couple of weeks ago.

In the following days he said up to 20 mourners tested positive.

However, after carrying out three tests which were all negative, Simon drove to Falkirk to visit friends on Saturday, August 14.

https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/health/forth-valley-royal-patients-being-put-in-treatment-room-due-to-lack-of-beds-on-wards-3359059

But after he began to feel unwell with a temperature and chest pains on the Tuesday a lateral flow test then a PCR test confirmed he was covid positive.

He was admitted to FVRH in Larbert where he remained on the covid ward for eight days.

When he was fit enough to be discharged, health officials asked Falkirk Council to arrange suitable accommodation for him so he could remain in isolation for a number of days.

The Scottish Ambulance Service transported him to temporary accommodation in Lothian Crescent, Bo’ness but Simon said it was unsuitable.

https://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/politics/council/historic-former-larbert-care-home-to-be-put-up-for-sale-3359138

He said: “There is a single bed, no seat in the shower or grab rails and no emergency pull cord.

"It’s just not good enough.

"I called the police to complain but they said there wasn’t anything they could do.”

He said there was a step up into the property which made it unsuitable for him to be able to navigate in an emergency.

However, the local authority denied his claims that they had abandoned him in the property.

A Falkirk Council spokesperson said: “We have a limited stock of emergency accommodation however, we managed to find a property in Bo’ness that could be used for Mr Kindleysides following a request from NHS Forth Valley.

“The property has a small step and it was confirmed that Mr Kindleysides was able to move about the hospital ward and would be able to manage this.

“We arranged for food to be delivered and offered to arrange a chair for showering if needed.

“Staff have worked hard to try and accommodate Mr Kindleysides and have been in daily contact with him to support his welfare needs.”

Simon eventually left the property on Wednesday evening and went to stay with friends in Falkirk.

He hit the headlines in 2018 when, with the use of a borrowed robotic suit, he completed the London Marathon. It took nearly 37 hours but he set a world record.

Since then, an anonymous benefactor has bought him an suit and in February this year he walked more than 100 miles to raise money for his local hospital, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

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