Disabled man without hands or legs is left without carers

DJ Calvert is scared that he might have to "fight and fight and fight" for care for the rest of his life

A man born without hands or legs has been told he will soon no longer get a daily visit from a care worker to help him shower and get dressed.

DJ Calvert told BBC News NI: "I've been let down - and I'm not the only one."

It was proof that Northern Ireland's health and social care system had "crashed", said the 49-year-old.

His care is provided by an independent firm on behalf of the Northern Health Trust. The trust said it was committed to providing an alternative package.

It added that it understood "the worry it is causing", and would "seek an alternative provider" that would "support him to continue living independently in his own home".

The care provider said it was "increasingly stretched" and that more funding was needed for the sector.

Although he lives alone, Mr Calvert, from Portstewart in County Londonderry, relies on a daily visit from a care worker to help him with basic hygiene and personal care.

'Carer being withdrawn in weeks'

For most of his life that help was provided by his mother but since March this year she has no longer been able to do what she once did.

A seven-day-a-week care package was then put in place after only one company agreed to provide it.

But last week Mr Calvert was contacted by his social worker to say it would end in three weeks.

"I thought somebody was winding me up," he told BBC News NI.

His care is provided by Connected Health but that is due to end on 1 December.

The told BBC News NI that it would comment on the care provided to individuals but that "like other care providers, were being increasingly stretched in ever more demanding circumstances".

Eddy Kerr from Connected Health told the BBC's Evening Extra programme the sector was "struggling" in terms of staffing, resources and funding.

"There's a lot of unmet need out there and certainly, as a provider, we are under pressure to meet that need," he added.

Mr Kerr said the pressure is coming "from a lack of funding".

"Decisions have to be made weekly, daily, hourly, with regards the care we are able to provide," he added.

In a statement, Connected Health said: "We will continue to lobby hard for the necessary resources to care for the thousands of vulnerable adults waiting for a package of care in Northern Ireland today."

Mr Calvert's friend Vicky has been making additional visits to help four days a week but now that looks to be the only assistance he will get.

It means he could be on his own every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and whenever Vicky is not available.

He said the only alternative he had been offered was to go into a care home, which he finds frightening.

"I asked the social worker: 'What is the worst case scenario if I can't get help?' and she told me: 'We'll have to get you a bed in a care home,'" he said.

"My anxiety is getting worse. I panic and wake up in the middle of the night because I'm dreaming about being in a care home.

"The system has failed [people] who need care and help. The system has crashed. There's not enough funding."

'Fight and fight and fight'

Mr Calvert described his home as his "sanctuary".

He said he believed nobody wanted to join the care profession because staff are not getting the money they deserve.

"I believe we should get Stormont back up and running, get the heads together and inject money into the care system and allow care workers to earn a bit more money," he said.

"You could earn more working in a supermarket than you can in the care profession.

Asked what he planned to do, he said: "I don't know - and that's what scares me.

"I'm going to need care for the rest of my life and what frightens me is that I will have to fight and fight and fight. I want stability".

'A rollercoaster'

Mr Calvert's mother, Heather, said she "just couldn't believe it" when she heard that her son was losing his care package.

"I was under the impression that this was permanent," she said.

She told Evening Extra that over the past seven months the situation surrounding DJ's care has been "a rollercoaster".

"You just don't know where you are all the time and what's going to happen to him and that is a very big worry."

She said "your child is always your child" and that while currently she sometimes has to fill in to provide DJ with care "that's not going to last forever".

Ms Calvert said the care system in Northern Ireland was currently set up in a way whereby "they expect the family to step in".