Long wait for elderly seeking improvements to their homes

The cash call comes as the District of Easington was revealed as having the longest waiting list of frail folk seeking special home adaptations in the region.

The newly-published figures from Durham County social services department show that hundreds of residents in east Durham are having to wait up to two years before work is carried out.

The new tables of waiting lists and waiting times paint a stark picture, with comparative figures showing that while in Durham there are 77 cases waiting for assessment, and none in Sedgefield - in the District of Easington there are more than 300.

And while there are no waiting times in Durham, in Easington, people in need of home adjustments, from access ramps to bath hoists, are having to wait as long as two years.

District and county councillor for Horden, Derek Armstrong, claims the figures are not only the worst in the region, but likely to be the worst in the country.

News of the scale of the problem comes in the same week that the District of Easington was again officially declared as one of the most deprived in the country.

And it is the economic situation which is thought to be largely responsible for the disproportionate number of residents needing help.

Coun Armstrong said that while occupational therapists were coping with the assessments, the real delay was being caused by Easington not receiving enough funding.

"We just have not got enough money, and top-level help is needed immediately. I know of a number of people who have died before their turn for house adaptations comes round," said Coun Armstrong.

A spokesman at the District of Easington council said all emergency work was carried out within six weeks. But he conceded there was a growing backlog due to insufficient funds.

The situation, he said, was being monitored, and he confirmed that a meeting of the primary health care group had been called for next month in a bid to secure extra cash