TOWN Hall chiefs must do more to fix housing repairs that can have a devastating impact on tenants’ mental health, says the son of an elderly dementia patient who was left without a bath or shower for seven years.

Richard McHale, 33, who lives in the Dalehead tower block flat on the Ampthill estate near Mornington Crescent with his 85-year-old father and his three-year-old daughter, told of how he got by for years washing in the gym or at friends and relatives.

In addition, during this time a persistent leak from the flat above was so bad it filled up a bucket every few hours.
After years of waiting, a new bathroom was recently fitted but this week the leak returned, leaving Mr McHale furious.

He said the repair delays and constant arguments with the council had taken a heavy toll on his family, including his brother who died after falling from the tower block two years ago.

Mr McHale said: “What happened was the ceiling came in and it rotted the bath away and it came off the wall. It meant there was no bath and nothing for the shower to go into. So I’d just go to the gym. Or to my nan’s.

“But it has been really too much for all us. No one should be living like that, not for that amount of time – they do not realise what is does to people.

“The leak was really bad too because it affected when you could go out. We were filling up buckets every hour and a half. And now it’s come back I have just had enough.”

Mr McHale’s brother Dale Millett died, 24, in May 2020 in what a coroner’s inquest later ruled was suicide. He had often spoken to his brother about how his living conditions were affecting his mental health.

“He would sometimes cry and say I can’t live like this out no more, I need out,” said Mr McHale, a personal trainer.
It has been a very difficult time for the family with another close relative undergoing cancer treatment.

The New Journal contacted the council this week asking about the length of time it had taken to fix the bathroom.

A day later a council worker appeared at the flat asking questions and what works needed to be done. The Town Hall said workers “were in the process of repairing the most recently reported leak as a matter of urgency”.

But Mr McHale said he had heard it all before, adding: “Whatever is going on, repairs are not being logged. They were asking me what has been happening – seven years I’ve been ringing up telling them what has been happening.”

Mr McHale said his family were among the first to move into the estate when it was built.

They bought the flat but had to sell it back to the council in 2013, after finding they could not afford the leaseholder bills for major works on the tower.

This week, a Camden Council spokesperson said Mr McHale was satisfied with the standard of workbefore the latest leak, adding: “A good standard of repair of all our properties and the comfort of our residents is our priority.

“The council are currently discussing a compensation settlement