Volunteers give care home residents a lift

17 October 2006

Volunteers from St John Ambulance rushed to the aid of residential home residents, after the lift in the building broke down, leaving 11 frail and elderly people stuck on the ground floor with their bedrooms six flights up.

Residents at Lound Hall in Lowestoft, Suffolk were left panicking when the lifts broke down, although the St John volunteers were able to fit each person into a special seated hoist and carry them up to their rooms.

Many residents had to stay in their rooms for ten days until contractors eventually fixed the lift, although they expressed their appreciation to the volunteers who helped them.

Senior carer, Mandy Hart said they had rung the ambulance and fire service before receiving assistance from St John Ambulance.

'The lift had been playing up and it just went, but of course all the residents were downstairs and there was an instant panic.

'The residents were stranded up there for ten days while we waited for a part to arrive to fix the lift so it did get a little bit difficult as we were up and down all the time.

'We ended up using the lounge up the top and some of the double rooms to get everyone together, but if St John Ambulance hadn't been there to help they would have been stuck downstairs.'

Lynne Slowey, transport corporal for St John Ambulance, comments: 'A phone call came in around 7.00pm and I rang around to rally the troops.'

Volunteers spent two hours at the home, ferrying residents from the lounge, where they were eating dinner back to their bedrooms.

Muriel, a resident at the home, said: 'I think St John Ambulance is wonderful and I can’t thank them enough for what they did for us.'