I READ with interest the letter from Alice of Paddock and her home care situation. Alice is more than lucky to receive such a good quality home care package, plus receiving the excellent support of her daughters, who, it seems, are able to carry out many of the tasks needed both for herself and for her home.

She is very fortunate that her home carers arrive when expected. Other people find that their home carers often arrive two hours late or two hours early. And, nowadays, if a worker has to stay a few minutes longer, then payment is increased.

Alice states that her assistants actually visit her in their own time, even bringing her a hot meal, thereby acknowledging the fact that they are not allowed and are not given sufficient time to undertake this task during their apportioned visits to her.

However, many people receive exactly the opposite in care: one home care assistant told her recipients who all lived nearby: “If you need anything at all, do not, under any circumstances, phone me.”

Of course, Alice will be aware that her home care team could be changed at any time. Her new team could be entirely different, and only speak to ask for sight of her work plan, just in case she has asked them to do something very minor (which they hope may not be on the work sheet).

She may find that her daughters will need to undertake far more tasks themselves, if they are able, due to her carers’ times being substantially reduced and other help now received stopping altogether.

So, if her daughters could not fulfil more tasks, she would have to advertise for, and employ, others to work for her. Then she would soon find out that the attendance allowance would nowhere meet the money she would have to pay out.

Although medically unsafe, many people have had to reduce the amount of care they receive themselves due to the high charges levied by the council. Hence the higher number of deaths recently.

Perhaps Alice herself would exchange home care teams, so giving others a better service, it’s only fair.

a johnson

Shelley

Why I want to keep dogs out

A WORD to the dog owner who stopped and waited while his dog was sniffing about on my lawn last Thursday, at 7.30am.

I knocked hard on my window to attract his attention and told him to “get that dog off my lawn”. He shouted back: “it’s ok”. And waved a plastic bag at me, presumably to say he would pick ‘it’ up if the dog fouled my lawn.

Let me tell this young man – it is not alright to let the dog foul my lawn even if he picks it up afterwards. Dogs leave their scent, then every other dog follows that scent and repeats the offence. I can assure this young man that not all dog owners do pick up their dogs’ mess and my lawn becomes a dog’s toilet.

So keep your dog off all lawned areas. If I wanted dog mess I would have a dog of my own.

J M ADDISON

Lepton