Disabled Bathroom Botch-up
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday July 19, 2003
TWO years ago, Penny Edwards thought all her prayers had been answered.
The Department of Veterans' Affairs agreed to modify her 79-year-old mother's bathroom to meet her specific medical needs.
The department drew up plans and commissioned a builder and Miss Edwards envisioned the finished product to look similar to the hundreds of other bathrooms the department had installed.
Miss Edwards, an enrolled nurse who cares for her war veteran mother 24 hours a day, thought the plans looked great and that her mother could finally use the bathroom with more ease.
However, after a month working on what appeared to be a fairly straightforward job Miss Edward's hopes were shattered.
``It took the builder... three to four weeks to do this," she said, pointing to the cracks in the ceiling, the uneven tiling and the unpainted walls.
``The vanity leaks, the ramp into the bathroom falls short of meeting the floor, which my mother could easily trip on and the glass in the shower doors is illegal by OH&S standards," she said.
Harry Sprintz, a consulting architect with the department, said the work was bad and because of this he had condemned it.
``We documented the work but then we had terrible trouble tracking down a builder in the Illawarra," he said.
After two years of waiting, the department has organised for two Illawarra builders to quote for the job.
``I am so distressed by the period of time it has taken to get a builder," Miss Edwards said.
With the poor condition of the bathroom, it is not only her mother Miss Edwards has to worry about, she is also concerned about hurting herself.
Throsby MP Jennie George heard of Miss Edward's plight and said she was astonished.
``I will certainly be following it up with a rocket to the minister." Mr Sprintz said he was very embarrassed for the department that the job had gone this way.
Yesterday afternoon the Department of Veterans' Affairs said a builder had been found and work would begin next week.
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury