Disabled mum to fight new flat KO

Catherine Clarkson, who lives in Portobello Road, has suffered a pre-cancerous condition for 18 years that has required several painful operations and has left her barely able to walk.

But despite being due to receive a skin-graft procedure in early January, which doctors say will greatly reduce her mobility, council officials have refused to move her to a high-priority accommodation list.

Mrs Clarkson, who was previously left bedridden for nine months after an operation to cut away pre-cancerous cells, said she does not know how she will manage.

The 42-year-old said: "It is a horrible and painful situation. My surgeon says I will not be able to climb stairs for a long time. I don't know exactly what the outcome will be, but I could be in a wheelchair.

"Last time I had an operation I was housebound, I couldn't get out at all. I remember it took me around 45 minutes to climb up the 36 steps to my second-floor flat.

"This time I'll need to keep still to give my skin graft the chance to heal properly and to stop infection. I asked the council for a move in August, but I have been told that I won't be put on a high-priority list.

"I think it's ridiculous because nobody in the council department is medically trained, so how would they understand my condition?"

She added: "I am not asking them for anything else. My aftercare has been sorted through my doctors and hospital. I just want to move to a ground-floor flat so that I don't have to suffer pain."

Mrs Clarkson, who lives with her husband and 18-year-old daughter, described how she had suffered problems since having a hysterectomy aged 26.

She said some days the pain was so bad she could not wear clothes or move any distance apart from between her bathroom and bedroom.

Mrs Clarkson has now appealed the decision, which the council has agreed to address.

An e-mail from one official said: "I have asked for an appeal visit to be arranged . . . I thought it would be useful to outline the assessment process which in Edinburgh differs from most other local authorities in Scotland. We do not undertake a medical assessment . . . Priority is only awarded when there are long-term housing needs. "

Mrs Clarkson said her doctor and gynaecologist have both written letters supporting her request to move.

A council spokesman told the Evening News that officials were due to address Mrs Clarkson's appeal within a fortnight.

He said: "No final decision has been reached as an appeal has been lodged."