'If they're doing it to me I dread to think of what they're doing with someone’s nan': I met a disabled Telford woman fighting for her right to care
As councils face huge demands to pay for the adult care needs of a growing number of people I went to meet one Shropshire woman who says she is "begging them to carry out their legal duties".
Charlotte Hale, 33, has had cerebral palsy since birth and also lives with other conditions including fibromyalgia and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder.
Miss Hale, of Donnington Wood in Telford, is wheelchair-bound and her doctor has confirmed, in a letter seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, that she “requires hands-on care support 12 hours a day” and that this care is “essential”.
Miss Hale, who moved to Telford from Milton Keynes in August after suffering falls at home, has had three months of care support provided by a domiciliary care firm.
But that firm, Home Instead, is not on Telford & Wrekin Council’s ‘framework’ of approved providers and its short-term funding for that package ended on Friday (December 12).
But Miss Hale says no legal assessment of her needs has been carried out and she has refused for ‘safeguarding reasons’ for her case to be handed over to another company until a formal assessment is done.
She says the least she wants is for the team of carers she knows to continue until after Christmas, when she hopes it will be easier to address issues.
“I don’t want to get to know another set of people seeing me naked,” she said. “It is degrading.”
Miss Hale, who has a double masters degree in legal professional practice, is writing a book and wants to set up her own consultancy practice.
She is eager to work but her condition worsens when she does not have stability in her care.
“I still have ambition and drive and I know that they have to allocate funding according to need,” said Miss Hale.
“A manager came to see me and all they wanted to talk about was budgets, equity, saving money, and cutting my hours of care.
“I am fighting for the right to dignity and an existence and begging them to carry out their legal duties to me.”
Miss Hale’s Newport-based doctor has told council officials that “any changes to care at this point would in [their] view be a serious safeguarding issue and lapse in care would lead to further neglect”.
Miss Hale says the council has a “pre-designed agenda” which is financial and “not caring about the impact”.
“They don’t have a heart, completely zero,” she added.
She said the stress of the fight is taking its toll on her physical and mental health to such an extent that she is “losing the will to fight”.
“I still have agency in decisions about my own care but I fear for people who don’t have the capacity.
“If they are doing it to me I dread to think of what they are doing with someone’s nan or people with dementia.”
A spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Council said on Friday: “While we aren’t able to comment on individual cases, we can confirm that commissioned support will not cease on Monday, and a change-over in provider is being facilitated.
“Those in receipt of care are aware of this.”
Miss Hale said she would not accept a change of carers against her will and turned down a new set of carers.
Telford & Wrekin Council has previously stated that it is facing significant budget challenges in providing social care, especially for older adults and people with disabilities.
The council’s budget forecasts were recently revised to predict that it would need an additional £14 million to cover the costs of providing adult social care packages through to the end of March 2026.
It says cuts and ‘efficiencies’ of more than £4 million will be needed if it is to stay within budget.
