'Bed' where NHS nurse sleeps after 13hr shifts amid council home fight

WHEN Jason Lewis finally finishes his 13-hour NHS nursing shifts, his work isn't done.

- By ETHAN DAVIES

He goes home to care for his teenage daughter who has autism and a frail 88-year-old dad for another few hours.

After waking up at 5.30am for work, what he really needs is an early night and a good sleep. But that's hard to come by in Jason's Salford flat.

He can't go to sleep until 1am, when his partner Hazel gets home from work, cleaning a dental practice. And when the pair settle down, they don't go to bed.

That's because, for the last three years, they've slept on the settee.

There are no other beds free for them in their flat, because Jason's dad, David, is suffering with dementia and Alzheimer's.

"He had a flat in Wales and the social worker did an inspection," Jason said. "He was heating frozen food in the microwave for two minutes and eating it."

The results meant Jason 'brought him back' from Rhymney, Caerphilly, to Irlam so he could provide direct care to David. That meant sacrificing his bed.

Jason has tried to keep the family together by applying for a Salford council house, as it's what he can afford.