{"id":545240,"date":"2025-11-03T01:01:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T01:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/545240\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T01:01:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T01:01:29","slug":"i-work-13-hour-nhs-nurse-shifts-and-have-to-sleep-on-the-settee-i-still-cant-get-a-council-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/545240\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I work 13-hour NHS nurse shifts and have to sleep on the settee – I still can’t get a council house’"},"content":{"rendered":"

After 13-hour NHS shifts, Jason Lewis returns to an overcrowded two-bedroom flat where he and his partner have slept on the sofa for three years to care for his autistic daughter and father with dementiaThis is the ‘bed’ Jason Lewis has to look forward to after working a 13 hour NHS shift(Image: Jason Lewis)<\/p>\n

When Jason Lewis finally finishes his 13-hour NHS nursing shifts, his work isn\u2019t done. He goes home to care for his teenage daughter who has autism and a frail 88-year-old dad for another few hours.<\/p>\n

After waking up at 5:30am for work, what he really needs is an early night and a good sleep. But that\u2019s hard to come by in Jason\u2019s flat.<\/p>\n

He can\u2019t go to sleep until 1am, when his partner Hazel gets home from work, cleaning a dental practice. And when the pair settle down, they don\u2019t go to bed.<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News <\/strong>WhatsApp<\/strong> group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

That\u2019s because, for the last three years, they\u2019ve slept on the settee.<\/p>\n

There are no other beds free for them in their flat, because Jason\u2019s dad, David, is suffering with dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a flat in Wales and the social worker did an inspection,\u201d Jason explained. \u201cHe was heating frozen food in the microwave for two minutes and eating it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results meant Jason \u2018brought him back\u2019 from Rhymney, Caerphilly, to Irlam so he could provide direct care to David. That meant sacrificing his bed.<\/p>\n

Jason has tried to keep the family together by applying for a Salford<\/a> council house, as it\u2019s what he can afford. He\u2019s after a three-bed home in the borough so he can get to work at Salford Royal Hospital without difficulty, his partner can continue cleaning a dentists in Irlam, and he won\u2019t have to move Katie from Oakwood Academy in Eccles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are renting privately now,\u201d the 55-year-old dad added. \u201cI need a council house because the rent with the council is better. My rent now is affordable, but only because it’s a friend at work. He has given me a two-bedroom house at the same price of a one bedroom council flat.<\/p>\n

(Image: Jason Lewis)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe place at the time was adequate for us but because my dad has moved in, it\u2019s overcrowded so it’s now not adequate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been bidding every single week for a three-bedroom house since I asked them to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite letters from his father\u2019s carers and daughter\u2019s school arguing Jason\u2019s living arrangements are \u2018overcrowded\u2019, and Jason\u2019s writing directly to city mayor Paul Dennett in May 2023, Salford council\u2019s system still tells Jason he\u2019s 125th in the queue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told the council this house was overcrowded years ago,\u201d the Welshman went on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said my dad can get a one bedroom flat. I said that’s not the point, because he cannot look after himself, so they said they can get carers in.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, Hazel works partial nights so she can provide care while Jason is at work, so he believes moving the family-of-four to a larger home means David will get better care, and it would save the taxpayers thousands.<\/p>\n

Jason said: \u201cWe are his carers. The fact is [if dad got his own flat he] could be anywhere in Salford\u2026 so I could drive to him, but if I’m in work I cannot get to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo with an extra bedroom we are not burdening the council and costing them thousands of pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jason first moved to Salford in 2000 and makes a living working for the NHS at Salford Royal, pictured(Image: Copyright Unknown)<\/p>\n

The years long wait has left Jason frustrated, especially given his years of service caring for people on the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could be looking after any one of your family and you say I am not fit to have a property,\u201d he sighed.<\/p>\n

Salford council says demand for social homes is \u2018extremely high\u2019 in the borough, suggesting Jason\u2019s three-and-a-half year wait will go on.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said: \u201cWe cannot comment on individual cases, but we can confirm that Salford has a clear policy for allocating socially rented homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim is to ensure that those in greatest housing need on the register are given access to homes first. It\u2019s essential that residents provide all relevant details in their applications so we can assess their circumstances accurately.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial housing is in extremely high demand in Salford, as it is across the country. That\u2019s why we remain committed to building high-quality homes, including those available for truly affordable social rent. We also offer a range of support packages for residents who are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 13-hour NHS shifts, Jason Lewis returns to an overcrowded two-bedroom flat where he and his partner have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,6333,2465,1290,27605,1832,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-545240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-housing","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-salford","14":"tag-salford-council","15":"tag-salford-royal-hospital","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115483069336461277","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}