Gran short-changed over care says family

Concerns have been raised by relatives of Peggy Guest who say she is only receiving an average of just over 25 minutes of personal care each day, rather than the 45 minutes she should receive.

Grandson Craig Guest said the discrepancies came to light when he started monitoring her care records.

The former school cook from Pelsall is suffering from Alzheimer's disease and Walsall Council has confirmed it is looking into the complaints.

Mr Guest said Peggy had been receiving care from an agency on behalf of the council.

He has kept logs created and signed by the care providers of the amount of care she received, including brushing hair, helping her get downstairs and dressed.

He claims that during two weeks in November his monitoring found this ranges from 20 minutes to 35.

The 38-year-old teacher has put his career on hold and moved in with the grandmother and grandfather Alfred, also 93, to offer them support.

She has been received care since the summer from two providers, with Mr Guest claiming there has been no overall improvement.

He said: "We have utilised the services of two different companies, with no overall improvement.

"My grandmother was due to receive 45 minutes of personal care every morning. This has not been the case – the average time spent is 25.9 minutes per visit.

"I believe that this is an inadequate use of taxpayers' money.

"Care companies should be paid for the work that they do, they shouldn't be paid for work that they do not carry out.

"In a full 45-minute care session, my grandmother could receive either a bath or a shower, have her hair washed and be clothed and seated downstairs.

"Very basic and rushed care has been received.

"I am disappointed by the care that Walsall Council have provided via care agencies.

"The care is sub-standard and the taxpayer should only pay for the care and work that is actually done, not what is alleged to have been done by the agency in a written contract.

"There are many such care companies operating in the area and it would be unfair to generalise that they all operate in a manner that optimises profit over standard of care received.

"I believe that we do need to act, through duty, when standards decrease because our elderly relatives deserve the very best level of care in their twilight years."

Andy Rust, head of joint commissioning at the council, said: "We take concerns about the care and support provided to Walsall residents very seriously.

"Social work staff are aware of Mr Guest's concerns about his grandmother's care and social work staff have been in discussions with him about how to ensure she gets the care that she needs.

"We are investigating the concerns raised by Mr Guest and we will respond to him when the investigation is complete.

"We are happy to speak to Mr Guest at any time if he has any further concerns he would like to discuss with us."

It comes as Walsall Council plans to decommission day centres in extra care schemes and reduce respite care.

The council has a contract with Housing 21 for the provision of five extra care schemes and one dementia care residential home.

This includes day centre services and a number of respite care units.

The authority claims there has been a lack of use of the services.

The plans, which were rubber-stamped by cabinet chiefs last week, would save £480,000.