Marie Creeney and her husband, Frank, are struggling with the social care system. Frank, 81, suffered a brain tumour 20 years ago, resulting in severe brain damage. He needs help from when he wakes until he goes to bed.

Mrs Creeney, 72, gave up her job as a senior social worker to care for him at home, but is now in difficulty because she needs kidney dialysis three times a week.

The couple live in Lancashire. Mr Creeney, a former housing officer, qualifies for 25 hours of care a week, but Mrs Creeney does not qualify for any. She pays for a cleaner out of her small savings. Speaking to The Times, she said that the situation was a nightmare. “Things are getting very bad. My kidney failure means I now have problems using my hands,” she said.

The 25 hours of care now just about cover the time it takes her to have her dialysis. A new problem arose when Mr Creeney’s main carer left four weeks ago. The couple have been forced to struggle on their own.

They use the “direct payment” scheme, which means that they get cash but are responsible for finding staff. “Social services have ignored me. The duty officer fobbed me off and said there was nothing they could do because someone is on leave. Because we use ‘direct payments’ we have to sort out our own carer.”

Mrs Creeney said that at least she knew how the system works from her years as a social worker. “But what happens to all the other poor souls out there who don’t know how the system works?” she said.

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