A 29-year-old woman has been marooned at home and can't dress or wash herself because of a care crisis.
Rebekah Ninnis was visited once a day by carers, but her arrangement ended and so she now is reliant on her mum Moira, who works full-time as a community carer.
Rebekah is a former carer, and suffers from functional neurological disorder (FND), a medical condition in which there is a problem with the functioning of the nervous system, and how the body and brain send and/or receive signals.
Rebekah experiences seizures and was admitted to Royal Cornwall Hospital last month, with a suspected kidney infection.
She was discharged in the early hours on the premise that she return for a scan, reports Cornwall Live.
Following the scan Rebekah, who lives in Penzance, and her mother Moira tried to contact the service that had formerly cared for Rebekah.
But they found that the care package was closed and somebody else taken on instead.
Moira said: “Rebekah was first diagnosed with FND in March and had been looked after by the care service STEPs until last week. Her condition has left her unable to dress or shower herself.
“She was previously visited once a day but now has no care package and nobody coming in to get her up. It’s now down to me even though I work full time as a carer. It’s impossible for me to care for her and do my job.
“We’ve got nowhere to go as no care companies seem to be taking people on. We’re in a bit of a dilemma. STEPs was funded by Cornwall Council but was only a short-term package. The plan has been to continue with STEPs until another company could take Rebekah on.
“It’s been a nightmare. We’ve been to Disability Cornwall to see if they have anyone available but unfortunately not. It seems that one day she had everything she needed and the next day it was all gone.
"There’s nobody out there and care companies are in a dilemma through shortage of staff. They’re just not able to take anyone on.”
STEPs is a Cornwall Council service that can support people at home for a limited period, following a health or social care crisis.
It has been reported previously that more than 650 people are waiting for a home care package as the care industry in Cornwall enters a "major crisis".
Cornwall Council said the care industry is facing ongoing pressures with recruiting and retaining staff.
Mike Westmore, from JAMMAC Group, which runs four care homes in Cornwall, said previously that finding staff was a huge problem.
He described the situation as a "major crisis".
"We just can't recruit the staff so we just can't take on the packages," he said.
Mr Westmore said he thought pay was a "big factor" in the recruitment struggle, as well as the "image of the industry" suffering in recent years.
