Bad home care service ruined my Christmas claims Skelmanthorpe man David Rogers

Jan 11 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A DISABLED man claims his Christmas was ruined after none of his carers turned up to get him up and dressed.

David Rogers suffered a panic attack after no-one came round to his Skelmanthorpe home on Christmas Eve to help him.

Kirklees Council says the service had been disrupted by the adverse weather conditions.

David, 66, is wheelchair-bound after a stroke and needs daily care to help him get ready and go to the toilet.

He and his wife Sandra had lots of family around to their house for Christmas – including Sandra’s 84-year-old mother – so they were relying on Kirklees Council’s home care service.

David said: “I was expecting help on Christmas Eve because the whole family was coming including my wife’s elderly mother.

“My wife had enough to deal with getting everything ready and everyone sorted.

“In the end it was 11 o’clock before we managed to get me up and sorted and my wife had to wash me and get me ready.

“It threw me into anxiety and I had a panic attack and I was really ill all day.

“It spoilt my whole day and it really wasn’t a good start to Christmas.”

David said the weather was a factor, but it was changes to the carers’ rotas that were the root of the problem.

In October the council’s Adult Services department ‘modernised’ the service and reorganised the carers’ rotas.

David said: “I rang them up and they told me they didn’t turn up because of the weather.