Elderly cancer sufferers living in a social housing block have spoken of crawling up the stairs after treatment because the Housing Authority has left them without a lift for nearly two years.

The residents of the Mtarfa block told Times of Malta that the delay in installing a new lift has forced them to stay indoors for days on end.

Going up and down the stairs has become such an ordeal that they only go out when it is absolutely necessary – for hospital appointments and to buy groceries.

“After intense chemotherapy sessions we sometimes have to crawl up the stairs,” resident Rose Abela said.

“One of our neighbours was so weak when he came back from hospital that his two siblings had to lift him up the stairs,” another resident, Kathy Micallef, added.

One resident who preferred to remain unnamed said that when she returned from hospital after an operation to remove a tumour it took her half an hour to climb two storeys to her apartment. And others must endure three or even four floors, she said.

“I’ve been staying inside so much that sometimes I start to lose hope in life itself,” Micallef said.

“My pet dog looks at me longingly every day to take her out for a walk and I just have to look at her and tell her we cannot go, because I can’t walk up and down the stairs.”

Lift stopped working in 2021

The residents live in San David building – a government social housing block in Mtarfa which is home to 13 families.

The lift stopped working in August of 2021. Technicians who inspected the damage advised it not worth repairing and the Housing Authority promised to install a new one.

The residents have been on a waiting list for the new lift ever since.

The lift at the Mtarfa block. Photo: Karl Andrew Micallef

They said the Housing Authority has informed them their application is being processed and that the structural works require planning authority permits.

But they were also told that their application is only medium priority.

Meanwhile, some of the older residents have developed conditions like fibromyalgia or other conditions due to their old age or have fallen severely ill.

'We've sent medical certificates to Housing Authority'

“We have even sent medical certificates to the Housing Authority as proof that we suffer from conditions that require the urgent installation of a new lift,” Abela said.

“We’re forced to stay inside until we run out of groceries. Then we’re forced to go out,” Micallef said.

Times of Malta was invited inside the building last week, where the residents opened up about their ordeal and a couple of them gave comments on camera.

We cannot wait too much longer- Kathy Micallef

The following day, two workers showed up unannounced to take measurements related to the new lift.

“We had been chasing after them for quite a while and nobody told us they were coming that day. We just found them there. Maybe they heard that journalists had come the day before or it may have been a coincidence,” one resident said.

“I just hope this means we are getting the new lift soon because we cannot wait too much longer.”

Residents are forced to climb up several flights of stairs. Photo: Karl Andrew Micallef

In a reply to questions, a Housing Authority spokesperson said that the application has been placed after the other currently active applications on the waiting list but did not say by when it expects to have the lift installed.

The lift was first installed in 1994, underwent significant repairs in 2015 and when another request for repairs was filed two years ago it was decided that it was more sensible to install a new one.

“This new lift is included and planned for as part of the ongoing Lift Scheme operated by the Housing Authority, which involves the installation of multiple lifts annually in social housing blocks across the island,” he said.

“Additionally, this proposed lift installation has yet to establish consensus from owners of privately owned units who reside within this housing block.”

Residents said it is true that two units in the block are privately owned, but their tenants have not objected to the new lift and have cooperated with the rest of the tenants since the problem first occurred two years ago.