A 75-year-old Broughty Ferry woman who fell on a beach slipway fears she will never regain proper use of her shoulder.
Jane Begg slipped on a ramp entrance to the beach which follows on from steps leading down from Broughty Ferry Nature Reserve to the shore.
Jane, of Esplanade, says the steep ramp was dry when she slipped and “smashed” her shoulder off the concrete before landing on the sand.
She said: “I couldn’t move because the pain was so bad. My friend called an ambulance and it took three paramedics to lift me to my feet.
“I’m lucky it wasn’t my head.”
Jane was treated at Ninewells Hospital for a fractured proximal humerus – the ball joint in the shoulder – and still wears a sling most of the time, nearly two months after the accident.
“I had to sleep sitting up in a chair for a month,” she said.
“I can’t drive because the pain is too much and I can only lift my left arm to shoulder height.
“I might never be able to reach up to cupboards or do much more than that.”
The guide dog puppy walker, who has walked 22 dogs in her time, has been unable to take on any more puppies while her injury heals.
She added: “I was depressed at the beginning, I’m just starting to get better now.”
Calls for improvement
The accident took place in February and Jane has been calling on Dundee City Council to make improvements ever since but says she is yet to see action.
With no handrail or grips on the smooth concrete ramp, Jane is concerned further accidents could take place.
The ramp was added last year by the council as a result of falling sand levels on the beach but Jane says it is “too steep” and that dry sand builds up on it, making it slippery.
She believes that council plans to create new cycle and public foot paths at the top of the entrance will increase the ramp’s usage and has written to officers asking for a handrail to be installed.
After several communications, Jane has managed to secure a meeting with a council officer on Friday to discuss the incident but claims she has been told a handrail is not possible due to corrosion.
In responses sent directly to her from the council officer, Jane says she has been told the only option is signage.
She added: “Putting a sign up is not good enough – it’s dangerous.”
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said: “A representative of the council is meeting the resident later this week to discuss the situation and the various alternatives.”
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