Shropshire couple's carers found on Facebook amid funding row

Mr Callwood said his parents were "fragile" and needed help with washing, dressing and making food

A man said he sourced carers for his parents on Facebook after they were left with no council support package.

Johnathan Callwood's mum and dad in Church Stretton, Shropshire, need help washing, dressing and preparing food.

He said the Facebook-sourced support had itself now ended, giving his "fragile" parents the "emotional trauma" of being without care for days.

Shropshire Council - accused of leaving the family £11k out of pocket - declined to comment on a specific case.

The authority added it was dealing with pressures in the care sector.

Mr Callwood said problems began in November when a private company caring for his parents on behalf of Shropshire Council said it could no longer fulfil the package agreed by the authority.

When the council struggled to source a replacement, he said, he posted an emotional plea on Facebook and found two carers.

But they have since been unable to continue their roles due to personal circumstances, leaving Mr Callwood's parents without care since 23 January.

He said the family had spent about £11k following the cessation of the support package, and was owed the sum in direct payments from the council.

He added that he set up a limited company to sort the finances to help his parents avoid the stress of "having to pay their own employees", but had run into problems securing reimbursement when the council told him it was unable to pay the company as it was not registered with them or the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Mr Callwood, who said he was in the process of CQC registration, compared the experience to "wading through treacle".

Shropshire Council said the Coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on health and social care sector

Leader of Shropshire Council, Lezley Picton, Conservative, said pressures were particularly acute in rural areas and the authority was spending a large proportion of its budget on social care.

"Three per cent of Shropshire's population touch social care of some sort, so 97% have no dealings with it, yet it is costing 85% of the budget," she said.

Analysis

By Joanne Gallacher, Political Reporter, BBC Radio Shropshire

Paying for adult social care puts immense pressure on local authorities and the government assumes those in town halls will increase council tax to pay for it.

Councillor Picton says Shropshire Council spends about £488m of its annual £575m budget on social care.

That leaves a tiny slice of cash for the services the majority of people want and use: things like green spaces and collecting bins.

It is getting harder for those in power locally to balance the books and it is tough for rural councils where residents pay more, receive fewer services and, on average, earn less than those in urban areas.

Earlier this week, the council was ordered to re-calculate a bill that was charged to a man for staying in a care home because it had been unable to support him at his rural property.

The council said it was exploring recruitment programmes to boost its care provision.