On Friday 13th September we met with our tenants at Gatensbury Place in Princes Risborough following the death of one of our tenants at the sheltered scheme.

The lady was found in her flat by our staff on 21st August. We believe that, sadly, she had been deceased for a little while.

When someone dies it is always a challenging and sad situation for everyone involved. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of our tenant at this time. We know that losing a friend is difficult and that news of our tenant’s death must have been distressing for everyone at the scheme.

Our Sheltered Services Manager Kevin Eckley held a meeting with our tenants at Gatensbury Place on Friday 13th September. This was an opportunity for people to come and talk to us in person and share any concerns they may have with us and to help reassure them. We also discussed the steps we will take when a concern for a tenant’s welfare is raised with us. We have also visited the scheme on other previous occasions to talk to our tenants.

Gatensbury Place is one of our sheltered housing schemes that provides independent living for the over 60s. There are no staff based on site and the homes are not warden-assisted, but regular management visits are carried out by Red Kite staff.

Our last contact with our tenant was on 9th July and she spoke to one of our cleaning contractors on 18th July 2024.

The report of an odour at the scheme was shared with a member of our staff in August, this was investigated but was not thought to be anything suspicious.

On 21st August staff visiting the site again and detected a more concerning smell and carried out a welfare check on our tenant, where they found her to be deceased and called the emergency services.

During our meeting at Gatensbury Place we reminded tenants that incidents like this are extremely rare, but if ever they are worried about something unusual, or suspect that something might be wrong, they should not hesitate to reach out to us by calling 01494 476100. Alternatively, if anyone ever has serious concerns, they can also call the police via 101, or 999 in an emergency.

We also advised that tenants could contact Cruse Bereavement Support who offer a caring and understanding person for people to talk with in complete confidence. They can be reached by calling 01494 511 117.