ELDERLY residents living in a retirement complex have slammed their “disgraceful treatment” after claiming emergency services had to help carry people down the stairs.

Issues at Kings Court retirement complex, in Rayleigh, have included the lift being out of order for eight months, while residents at Oak Lodge, in Hockley, have also battled broken doors and leaky roofs.

Both complexes are run by management company Firstport and residents are all over 75 years old.

Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois joined residents to voice concerns to managing director Kully Sandra at Oak Lodge.

Oak Lodge resident, Jessie White, 90, joined the talks to voice concerns at both sites as “nothing had been done since April, when we first made complaints.”

Ms White said: “Rayleigh has their lift gone for almost a year. It’s such bad management for a three-storey building and at Oak Lodge, they don’t do anything. Our balconies are wobbly, there are roof problems and the gardening has been terrible.

“This is a small place and we have paid £5,000 a year. It’s gone up each year more than the rise to pensions. We want this all sorted, we want to be treated fairly and for the last few years of life – we don’t want to have to deal with this.”

Mr Francois said: “FirstPort manage some 1,500 facilities across the UK, but unfortunately, I have had serious complaints from both King Georges Court in Rayleigh and Oak Lodge in Hockley, and so I am grateful to their managing director, Ms Kully Sandra, for finding the time to discuss these issues with my constituents face to face.

“This has clearly been frustrating for the residents, but I do hope that as a result of this meeting, we will now be able to achieve a more positive outcome going forward.”

In response, Ms Sandra promised a better service in future, including a regular monthly meeting between the residents and FirstPorts’ new manager at the home to improve communication and as an avenue for residents to raise issues that might be concerning them.