Coma eviction Woman lost home and possessions as she lay in hospital bed
AWOMAN with sickle cell disease was evicted from her home while in a coma – and came out of intensive care to find all of her possessions had gone.
Juliet Iswan, 43, was in Bristol Royal Infirmary hospital from February 2023 after suffering from a stroke which took her into coma.
She remained in the ICU until just two weeks ago – but is now staying in social housing – with nothing but a hospital bed and hospital gowns. Juliet was in a coma for five weeks.
Before being rushed into hospital, Juliet had a home with emergency housing accommodation Connolly & Callaghan – where she had been living for eight years. But while she was in a coma, all of her belongings – including £300 in cash, her passport, irreplaceable family jewellery as well as other possessions – went missing and she cannot find any record of them.
Juliet, who was born in Uganda but has been living in Bristol since 2005, said: “I was told when I came out of a coma that I had been evicted from my home and all my things were gone. The most important things I cannot even put a monetary value on. Necklaces, earrings, every gift I ever got from my parents was in that box – my Mum, my Grandma – and it’s all apparently gone.
“I’ve lost all my clothes, shoes still in boxes – I loved to walk every day come rain, come shine, I would walk but now I have nothing. I don’t even know where my passport is.
“I’m now in a cold house with just a hospital bed and that is it – how can you discharge someone to this life? From a coma to this – it’s freezing cold – this is no way to live. I have nothing. Between the council and Connolly & Callaghan, no one is taking responsibility for my stuff. If I had left the flat to go to Glastonbury or something, I would understand, but they knew I was in the hospital literally unconscious.”
Juliet was born with sickle cell disease – a serious and lifelong health condition, which causes chronic pain, fatigue and other serious health problems, such as infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke – and there is no cure.
Juliet said the disease means she goes to sleep in pain, “with a traffic jam of cells in your body which hinders the movement of blood in your body”, often leaving her “feeling like she’s counting down the days of her life”.
After suffering a severe stroke in 2009, her life dramatically changed, as Juliet became physically disabled and had to have multiple hip replacements – as well as other surgeries. Since then, Juliet recalls being in and out of hospital – but was left in the BRI for 10 months when she suffered from a stroke.
Juliet then went into a coma, brought about by cerebral edema – swelling of the brain – in February 2023. She said: “When I was in hospital I was living in temporary accommodation – a one-bedroom flat in a Stokes Croft house with Connolly & Callaghan.
“But when I had woken up from my coma, my sickle cell nurse had to inform me I was literally homeless and had been evicted. I didn’t know what to say or think, I couldn’t speak.”
A spokesperson for Connolly & Callaghan said: “In line with our contractual obligations, we generally only store belongings for seven days. All belongings are brought into our properties at the individual’s own risk, as stated in the admissions paperwork. It goes without saying that we would always try our best to help those residents in our accommodation. However, we are restricted on storage, and have a constant influx of belongings that we’re required to keep for a week.
“In order to dispose of belongings, we must receive a TORT letter from the statutory agency and a copy is sent to the resident by the statutory agency, then and only then are belongings disposed of.”
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council has said the housing provider is responsible for a tenant’s possessions, not the council. They said: “It is the council’s responsibility to provide emergency accommodation to those eligible, while we work with them to find a more permanent solution.
“Housing benefit is paid to the accommodation provider to cover the costs of the accommodation. Where an individual requires a prolonged hospital stay then their temporary accommodation is held for a short period and housing benefit continues to be paid.
“If an individual’s hospital stay continues without a known date for discharge the temporary accommodation place will be made available for another person who is in need of emergency support.
“Officers will monitor the individual’s situation so that when they are ready to be discharged from hospital, emergency accommodation is found and we continue to work with them to find long-term solutions that meet their housing need.”
You can donate to a fundraiser set up by Juliet’s friend to assist her in replacing some of her possessions at: www.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/helpjulierebuild
❝ The most important things I cannot even put a monetary value on
Juliet Iswan