Caring council staff go the extra mile to care for injured tenant

THE Mayor of Rugby has thanked council staff who cared for an injured sheltered housing tenant into the early hours of Christmas Day.
26 August 2022

Property repairs operatives Clony Henry and James Mills were called to the tenant's town centre flat at 7.30pm on Christmas Eve to investigate a water leak.

After fixing the leak, Clony - known as KJ - and James visited the flat beneath the tenant's to check whether the leak had spread.

Hearing a loud bang and cries from above, the pair raced back upstairs to find the tenant had fallen to the floor with blood coming from a head injury.

KJ phoned 999 and after answering the call handler's questions, was told an ambulance was required and to call back if it failed to arrive within three hours.

Three hours later, KJ called again and was told an ambulance could take a further three to four hours to arrive.

Having established the tenant's family lived in Devon - and concerned he was suffering from concussion - KJ and James decided to stay at the flat and looked after the tenant until 3am, when an ambulance arrived.

At the hospital, the tenant was diagnosed with a mild concussion and was later discharged.

Cllr Carolyn Watson-Merret, the Mayor of Rugby, invited KJ and James to the Mayor's Parlour to pass on her thanks and present the pair with Amazon vouchers and a framed certificate in recognition of going the extra mile to deliver outstanding customer service.

"Our property repairs team carries out emergency repairs all year round, but on this occasion both KJ and James went above and beyond to ensure the safety of one of our tenants," Cllr Watson-Merret said.

"Thankfully the tenant escaped serious injury and KJ and James were able to celebrate Christmas Day with their families and loved ones, even if James only managed two hours' sleep before being woken up by his children, who were eager to open their Christmas presents.

"Both are a credit to the council and I was delighted to have the opportunity to thank KJ and James in person."