Help: Locking Gas Valve for Dementia Patient

AndyLiv40

Does anyone have any experience with getting Cadent to fit a locking gas valve ?

My mum has dementia and sometimes leaves the gas hob lit or tries to light cigarettes from the hob. Her designated Mental Health nurse supplied details of locking gas valves available from Cadent. Their website states:

'We can fit a lockable safety device (locking cooker valve) to the pipework of a gas cooker or hob !!!8211; this service is free of charge and is installed by one of our own engineers. This simple safety device will help a person living in a vulnerable situation retain their independence, and provide reassurance to family, friends and carers."

I applied for such a valve by completing the on-line form, clearly stating the nature of the installation (under-counter electric oven with gas hob mounted in the work-surface above the oven) but when submitted, no acknowledgment was received. It took several follow up calls and a form re-submission before an engineer was eventually despatched to the property. To his, and my, frustration, he stated that he had not been given the information from the call centre and that the installation would not be possible due to the cost of having to re-route pipework from underneath cupboards etc to a location where the valve can be readily located. He stated this is as recurring problem with installations of a work-surface mounted hobs due to the statement on the Cadent Website which only states that the fitting of the valve will be covered free of charge, without stating that any other rework required is chargeable to the customers own account

All advice on escalating this issue gratefully received.

[Deleted User]

I'm not sure there is any advice, they charge for such work even though the website appears not to make it clear they did tell you as soon as they saw the work required. Is the charge prohibitive? is it worth the charge for the peace of mind it might offer?

poppy12345

AndyLiv40 wrote: »

that the installation would not be possible due to the cost of having to re-route pipework from underneath cupboards etc to a location where the valve can be readily located.

There will always be a cost when pipes have to be moved. Maybe worth thinking about, for safety reasons. After all we can't put a price on someones life.

C_Mababejive

The whole idea seems flawed to me. The simple answer is to get an electric hob or a gas home that is more modern and has flame failure burners on it.

How is the end user going to manage if a locking cooker valve is fitted and those with keys are away perhaps on holiday? Are they to starve?

Again, what about if the person has another gas appliance,maybe a gas fire? Do they fit locking gas fire valves also ? The whole thing seems ridiculous to me.

elsien

Yes, unless I'm missing something I'm confused as to how a device that can only be used when someone else is there to unlock it promotes independence. And what if the carer forgets to lock it again when they leave?

w06

glad it's not just me, I couldn't figure how this aids independence either, nor adds to safety if it's an accessible switch

C_Mababejive

Why not put a lockable timer on the central heating in case they turn it on and leave it on full in the hot weather and suffer in health or worse because of it?