Woman shocked by letter (From Penarth Times)

Woman shocked by letter

A LOCAL woman has been left in disbelief after receiving a letter saying her home care diary would not be provided for three weeks.

The resident, who did not want to be named, said she was shocked when she received the Vale of Glamorgan Council letter, believing services she received - shopping and cleaning - would stop.

However, a Vale Council spokesman has said this will not be the case at all.

The woman, who has needed care since a hysterectomy went wrong several years ago, said: "I've had a lot of trouble with services. I had a care agency in to help me but in the end I had to request that the services be terminated as they never turned up.

"Five weeks ago I met with a social worker who agreed I should have a care worker from the council come in."

Care workers visit for two hours a week, one week doing shopping and the other cleaning.

However, last week the woman received the letter stating: "I regret to inform you the office will not be able to provide your weekly diary for the next three weeks.

"This is due to staff shortages and the approaching Easter period. We are doing our best to rectify this problem as soon as possible."

She said: "It's disgusting. How many people has this happened to? I worry about the people who are more disabled than myself, who need people to go out on a daily basis.

"There's no guarantee that at the end of three weeks they will have staff to put in then."

But a spokesman for the council said: "There will be no effect to the service. It will carry on as normal. It just means that they won't be sent the diary through the post. Care staff will still be turning up."