Andrew George MP

Andrew George, MP for St Ives, visited constituent Ian Rhodes who recently had a bathroom conversion carried out by the highly commended Care & Repair scheme run by Devon & Cornwall Housing Association. The busy MP, who has previously worked for different charities in Nottinghamshire and the south west specialising in, among other things, affordable housing, was keen to see how much of a difference having a disabled adaptation meant to Mr. Rhodes.

Care & Repair helps older people and people with disabilities to stay in their own homes, and when Mr. Rhodes started to experience real difficulties using his bathroom, Care & Repair were able to secure funding and arrange for a contractor to adapt his bathroom to remove his bath and install a walk-in shower. As an ex-Navy man, Mr. Rhodes was used to having ‘make do’, sometimes under very difficult circumstances, but not being able use his bathroom properly was starting to get him down.

Andrew George spent almost an hour chatting to Mr. Rhodes and the Care & Repair team including manager David Davies and caseworker Gerry Sylvester. “I congratulate all involved in the Care & Repair Team”, Mr. George said, “I know from the many people I meet just how much this bespoke service is appreciated by the many people who need vital alterations and extensions to their properties in order to enjoy a satisfactory lifestyle and to continue living in their homes without having to face the disruption of a move. Mr Rhodes is clearly another example of someone who has and will benefit enormously from the important improvements to his property and which make his life more tolerable and enjoyable than before.”

David Davies, the manager of (Cornwall) Care & Repair said, “Mr. Rhodes is just one of the hundreds of people we help. Staff provide advice and help with the entire process of deciding what work is required, how to finance it, finding a reliable builder, and seeing building works through to completion. I’m proud of the team, and the commendation for our services, it’s great to see this much-needed service being valued and appreciated.”

The final word goes to Mr. Rhodes: what did he think of the work done? “The Care & Repair team were friendly and efficient and the builders did a really good job. Having the adaptation has made a huge difference and I’m very grateful to everyone.”

For more information on Care & Repair click here