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Faces of the cuts - carers
Carer Aileen Brown
Today, the Evening Post can reveal the true human cost of the £180m government-imposed cuts facing Lancashire.
“Cutting our services will destroy lives and communities.”
Those are the thoughts of foster parents, carers, disabled people, care workers and pensioners across Lancashire who have united in the battle against sweeping public sector cuts.
The Lancashire Evening Post has profiled five regular families from across the county, who could be affected if planned multi-million pound cuts to local services go ahead.
They say the cuts will “rip apart” communities and “destroy” families. It comes after the county council followed health, police, fire and district council chiefs in announcing it was slashing millions from its budget – with 70% of the cuts to hit frontline services.
County Coun Jennifer Mein, leader of the opposition Labour group, said: “This is just a snapshot of the thousands of people who will be affected by these unfair cuts. We keep getting told that this is what we have got to do. It isn’t. The government has made a decision to do this and these are the consequences.”
County Coun Geoff Driver, Conservative leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “It is important that we stress this is not some academic exercise. Like it or not, we have to take £180m out of our budget over the next three years.
“I have done everything I can to make efficiency savings to minimise the impact on frontline services, but with £180m, with the best will in the world, we have to take some money out of services that affect the people of Lancashire. People have my promise that I am doing whatever I can to protect the most vulnerable people.”
Overall, £179m is being cut from Lancashire County Council’s budget over the next three years. Final budget proposals will be voted on on February 17.
The care worker.
Frail and vulnerable elderly people across Lancashire are missing out on care they desperately need, because of council cuts, according to one veteran Preston care worker.
The care worker, who works for a private care company providing services for Lancashire County Council, says staff are routinely made to leave patients earlier than they are supposed to, so they can fit in more and more clients in a single shift.
She also says staff are being forced to work “excessive” hours for poor pay, and she claims people who need help to stay in their own homes are missing out on vital care as a result.
The care worker, who does not want to be named, said: “In the past I used to see four or five people in a three-hour evening shift. Now I could see up to 12.
“Where people are supposed to get 30 minutes with a carer, they might only get 10 now. It’s not right. People aren’t getting proper care, and it is because of constant pressure from above, forcing us to do more and more longer hours. People are exhausted. It’s making some of us ill.”
The care worker, who has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, says many employees are leaving the profession. She says many more secretly want to leave, but can’t find a job elsewhere.
Lancashire County Council said it is investigating her claims.
Ann Mylie, head of social care procurement at the council, said: “We take any complaints about homecare very seriously, and will certainly look into the concerns raised by this employee. However, [this firm] is on our ‘preferred provider’ scheme. This means we monitor them closely.
“The evidence we have currently shows that 85% of people are ‘very or quite satisfied’ with the service they receive. More broadly, care agencies are telling us they have less work coming in than they had previously, and there are certainly no capacity issues in Preston.”
The carer.
Aileen Brown has dedicated her life to caring for others.
The 56-year-old from Stoney Holt, Leyland, was nominated as the ITV Carer of the Year for her efforts caring for her disabled mother and son, as well as supporting her niece and two grandchildren who have all suffered from different illnesses.
But she says planned council cuts will force people like her to take on more responsibilities that they cannot manage.
She said: “Being a carer is a difficult thing. People don’t realise just how hard it is.
“I’ve been a carer for years and my own health has gone downhill because of it. You spend all your time looking after others that you don’t have time to look after yourself.
“Now it seems the councils are pulling the rug from under us even more.”
Aileen now suffers from kidney and lung disease, hypertension and high blood pressure. She says her ailments are a legacy of being a carer.
Her life was first turned upside down 12 years ago when her teenage son, Andrew, suffered severe brain damage after a road accident.
Doctors gave the 15-year-old just hours to live, but Aileen never gave up hope and fought to give him a better life. He has since married and has two children of his own.
Then the family was dealt another blow, when Aileen’s 86-year-old mum, Rosina, suffered a massive stroke three years ago, leaving her paralysed on one side.
After the stroke, Aileen adapted her home in order to care for her mum to prevent her from going into a nursing home. Rosina died in 2008.
Aileen said: “It makes me sick what they are doing to this country.
“They are cutting back where it is needed most. All it will do is put more pressure on families who are already struggling to cope.”
She is worried lack of support for carers will end up with more ill and elderly people going into care homes.
However, Lancashire County Council is proposing reducing the amount of subsidies they pay towards social care fees by £24m under current budget proposals, leading to fears that private care home costs could soar.
Aileen said: “It is a constant battle. On the one hand they are pushing people into homes and with the other they are making it more expensive. People can’t win.”
Adult and Community Services at Lancashire County Council currently face £60m cuts over three years.
Have your say by filling in our survey online at lep.co.uk. Alternatively, contact reporter Karl Holbrook on 01772 838167 or email him at karl.holbrook@lep.co.uk.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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Comments
There are 11 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Fedup84
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 05:52 PMLets blame the bankers again for the mess we are all in, is there anything that the bankers haven't caused in this country. Every single person who has borrowed money from the bank, has a credit card or finance purchases through monthly payments have played a part. Its called personal accountablity! If you go to a bank and borrow £10,000 knowing full well you can't afford to pay it back your are as equally responsible as the bank is for that money. Labour also fell into this trap, the big worry is the state of the Private Finance schemes the Labour set up to pay for everything from new hospitals to schools which are now having to be paid back with large repayments. Every single person should start making provisions to look after themselves in the future, as the country can no longer afford to! The whole public pension scheme is a giant ponzi scheme, the first generation to claim the pension hadn't paid a penny in and so each generation is having to pay for the generation above them and at present there isnt enough people paying into support those taking out!
ex pat in newcastle
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 04:47 PMWe could start saving public money by not giving MPs expense accounts. When they applied for the job as MPs they do it for the good of the population, not to line their own pockets.
prionmonkey
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 04:36 PMPedantic, I agree that all parties are self-serving and as bad as each other. yes the country is in huge debt. Whose fault is it? Members of the ruling elite - the Oxbridge educated politcal club of pretty much the same hue whichever side of the House they sit on. Vote buyers all. They and the bankers who hold this country to ransom and refuse to act when the housing market was boiling over, who refused to bail themselves out when their stupid loans collapsed around their ears, the excessively rich, pointless celebs and soccer players, the corrupt self-regarding mandarins in London. But chucking public servants onto the scrap heap is Not the answer. It aint their fault they happen to work for beaurocracy. We must curb excessive public spending sure, we must crack-down on tax avoidance, we must stem the ludicrous bonuses of the people who put us in the mess and we should invest heavily in future technology which we can then flog to the rest of the world.
MediaChick
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 01:04 PMTell you what why dont they just cut all the money from our council taxes and we'll each throw in a couple of hundred quid a year to pay for street lighting and having the bins emptied - it seems to be the only thing the council will continue to do!
MediaChick
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12:27 PMTell you what why dont they just cut all the money from our council taxes and we'll each throw in a couple of hundred quid a year to pay for street lighting and having the bins emptied - it seems to be the only thing the council will continue to do!
MediaChick
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12:27 PMTell you what why dont they just cut all the money from our council taxes and we'll each throw in a couple of hundred quid a year to pay for street lighting and having the bins emptied - it seems to be the only thing the council will continue to do!
sinnersand saints
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 10:43 PMComment removed by moderator
Pedantic Poster
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 09:42 PMok, so whats your suggestion to avoiding cutting government spending? do you have an alternative? its all very well saying this group is being treated unfairly, or that group deserves more help for whatever reason. cuts have to be made. saving money for carers means someone else will go without. i know its a cliche, and its hard, but somehow this country has to get itself out of debt.
River
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 09:05 PMTry living for 24 hours in the shoes of a carer, then tell me they don't deserve all the support they can get. Carers save the government £billions, cutting the support they get is yet another example of a false economy.
Pedantic Poster
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 06:42 PMcouple of points here. first, what would happen if these cuts werent made? increases in income tax? higher council tax? more vat? and that would lead to higher unemployment. yes the cuts are unplatable, but the consequences of not doing them are much much worse. second, although the tories are making these cuts, you dont really think the situation suddenly got worse when they got into power? they are simply dealing with the problem they inherited. this isnt a defence of the cuts or the tories, but instead of shouting about how bad they are going to be affected, people should look at the wider picture, and then suggest alternatives.
prionmonkey
Monday, January 17, 2011 at 12:34 PMThe Tory government must be laughing out loud. They make massive cuts pass the buck down the line to the local council's who they hate so they get the blame and don't give a toss about the poor people who bear the brunt of their irresponsibility. The Big society is a big lie. They want NO society... as Thatcher avowed all those years ago...
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